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Are you struggling with openness? Do you wish you could find out how someone else dealt with food and eating issues? Do you need to know more about making a cultural plan for your child? Our searchable articles database is a vast collection of outstanding adoption articles, offering expert opinion, real-life stories, and relevant articles on a huge range of adoption issues.
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Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
A BC film explores the bravery, determination, and humour it takes to rise above the legal systems, societal prejudices, and personal fears inherent in starting a family through adoption.Nelson, BC-based filmmaker Amy Bohigian’s documentary film, Conceiving Family, follows her and partner Jane Byers’ journey to becoming a family, and combines personal interviews, intimate footage and family photos of four other same-sex couples to tell the
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
The adoption process is a strange one—for everyone involved. I have no experience with what it is like to be adopted myself, or to be an adoptive parent. My understanding of adoption comes solely from my experiences as a child into whose home another child was adopted. When you are nine-years-old and your parents announce that after four years of applications, and waiting, and interviews, and more waiting, and random spot inspections of the
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
In this discussion paper, I hope to open a door for reflection and discussion within the adoption community, meaning adoption agencies, support services, and adoptive and prospective adoptive parents. It is time to examine our underlying values and biases in adoption, and address how the adoptive system advantages some, while disadvantaging others.When my husband and I were in the process of creating a family through adoption, I admit that
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
For white parents of black children (full or biracial), doing your child’s hair is totally different from doing your own. It’s something most white people never had an opportunity to learn about.It is essential to your children’s sense of identity and self-esteem that they are given the opportunity to look like they are well-cared for and groomed; this is particularly true for transracial families already subjected to unusual social scrutiny by
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
Loving our children has been easy. As transracial adoptive parents, however, it has been much more difficult to develop strategies for dealing with individual and institutional racism.In our experience, the best lessons we can offer are those that teach our children to externalize racism and assure them we will always be there for them.Externalizing racismBecause my husband and I do not share our children’s racial or cultural backgrounds, we
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
Ola Zuri, a transracial adoptee, has written a children’s book Why Can’t You Look Like Me? Siobhan Rowe interviewed Ola about her experience growing up and what she’d like parents who adopt a child of a different ethnicity to know.Why did you write the book?The inspiration (this is one of a series of books) stems from my own experience and from talking to adoptees, adoptive parents, and birth parents. Throughout my life I’ve had to answer so
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
It's the annual Vietnam Connection Christmas party, and we've invited new families with small children adopted from Vietnam to join us. Bemused, fellow adoptive parent David Kuefler Ter Weeme and I watch the chaos. Our group is, after all, a wildly improbable group of people. But for adoption, we'd certainly never have met. After seven years, the only common trait we’re sure of, besides children of Vietnamese heritage, is stubborn individuality
Source: National Adoption Information Clearing House
AFABC often receives requests for referrals to adoption therapists and for advice on how to choose the right one. This article, sourced from an article by the National Adoption Information Clearing House, provides some answers.Adoption brings unique rewards as well as challenges to families, and sometimes families will need or want professional help as concerns or problems arise. Timely intervention by a professional skilled in
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
by Joanne ThalkenThe Oregonian newspaper recently ran a story entitled “Sending Black Babies North.” Gabrielle Glaser, a journalist who visited BC recently, and who has shown great interest in Canadian adoptions of African-American children, is the author.Ms. Glaser interviewed several Canadian families, with African-American adopted children, and writes about the issues surrounding a wealthy nation “exporting” its children. While she is
Source: Focus on Adoption magazine
Counselling Therapist Geoff Ayi-Bonte, MA RCC, answers your questions on adoption, family dynamics, and transracial families.My partner and I adopted a six-year-old girl from foster care two years ago. We both love her very much. However, we have decided to split up. Even during the adoption process we knew that things weren’t going well, but we were so wrapped up with the adoption that we ignored our problems and didn’t admit them to our social
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