Adoptive parents — and photo pros — help you capture those precious moments with your kids.
Ask AF: Tough Birth Father Info
Answers to your parenting questions.
30 Questions All Adoptees Want Answered
All adoptees grow up with questions about their birth parents, the circumstances of their adoptions, and more. Here they are.
“The Day I Joined a Forever Family”
A 10-year-old recalls the day a foster family became a forever family for him and his sister.
Talking About A Difficult Adoption Story
What children don’t know can’t hurt them, right? Think again.
How to Talk About Adoption
10 tips for talking with your child about adoption, getting him to talk to you, and preparing him to talk to others, especially in school.
How to Talk About Birth Fathers with Young Children
Because young adopted children tend to focus on their birth mothers, you need to make a special effort to include their birth fathers.
“Someone I Will Never Know”
I had never met my child’s birth mother. Could I learn to love her?
Revealing Painful Adoption Details
Children need to know their full stories before the teen years. Why, and how, to explain troubling information.
Talking with Teens About Sex and Dating
Having “the talk” with your teen is necessary — and it can turn into an emotional conversation about birth parents.
Birth Parent Fantasies
Your child’s birth mother looms large in her imagination now. What’s your grade-schooler really thinking?
“Digesting Her Adoption Story, a Piece at a Time”
As my daughter grows, she slowly and sweetly puts together the facts of her birth and adoption.
“Why Did You Buy a Foreign Child?”
When an anonymous poster invaded our neighborhood message board, I knew I had to answer back.
“Yes, Black Women Do Adopt”
Talking with Black women about adoption became a routine part of motherhood for me, alongside diapers, homework, and the warmth I feel every time I look at my son.
“Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hatches a Talk About Adoption”
A beloved children’s book sparked a discussion with my three-year-old daughter about adoption and her birth mother.
“My Parents Never Judged My First Mother”
With her swollen belly, my classmate reminded me of my own first mother. People expected her to be ashamed, but I wondered, how can someone be ashamed of the mother without also being ashamed of the baby?
Ask AF: When Preteens Face Prejudice
My 12-year-old, adopted from China, has recently been saying she doesn’t want to go to school. Last night I finally got her talking. She said, “There are kids who disrupt the class and are racist. They tell Asian jokes.” Her school is diverse, but there are few Asian students. How can I help her?
“Blood Doesn’t Mean Family”
After reuniting with my birth family and studying in my birth country, I felt closer to my adoptive family than ever.
“What ‘Real’ Means to Me” – An Adoptee’s Story
Being asked who your “real parents” are is part of being an adoptee. Even though I know now what parenting means, those four letters still make me cringe.
“When Will My Daughter Truly Know What Adoption Means?”
“It’s a hard truth, a harsh reality to take in, that love and pain can be so connected, so entwined. When will she truly know what adoption means? When will she finally learn the whole truth of what this word means?”