Prospective adoptive parents

If you see any of these signs in your relationship before you adopt a child, work through the problems together or get a good counsellor.

The importance of cultural connections

In a previous article, I wrote about the Exceptions Committee in the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). The article was prompted by a list of questions that the Adoptive Families Association of BC had gathered from their membership. There were additional questions related to Aboriginal adoption in BC that I will endeavor to answer in this follow-up article.

Are you adopting children of Aboriginal heritage, or thinking about it? Indigenous social worker Kelly Davie shares her wisdom about travelling this unique path.

Keep an open heart, an open mind, and laughter in your life; it will serve the family well.

Be patient with yourself and others, and persevere. The path to permanency can be much longer than we first imagine.

New York adoption agency says, "Slow down!" Speed is the enemy of successful adoptions.

According to Maris Blechner, in making a successful adoption placement, the age, race, or health of a child makes little difference. Neither do the marital and financial status, the location, or the parenting experience of the prospective parents. What matters most is the parent’s ability to claim a child, and a long, careful, transition.

Most new adoptive parents are between the ages of 30 and 50. That can make it difficult when adoptive parents are much younger.

Thanks to the recent publicity around celebrity adoption, some people claim that adoption has become the latest parenting trend.

That sort of comment annoys adoptive parent Laura Livingstone. As a 25-year-old parent she’s heard similar remarks all too often, and not just from people outside the adoption community.

Wow, we are the parents of two children that just celebrated birthdays. Our daughter just turned three and our son just had his first birthday.

Like many of you, the first two years home with our daughter involved sleepless nights and restless days with a tired, hyper-aroused toddler. It was during those early years that I began my informal education in trauma and the brain, attachment disorders, positive parenting, and floor time.

Regardless of whether you are thinking about a first child or a fifth, there is no right or wrong answer – only what is right for you.

We’ve all heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” but does the village have a say on the decision to have a child? Or the best process? The choice to have a child, whether biologically or via adoption, is a very personal one, and one that demands a high level of consideration regardless of the family, or village, which may be involved in the child’s life.

Definition
Cleft lip and palate are congenital abnormalities (present at birth) that affect the upper lip and the hard and soft palate of the mouth. Features range from a small notch in the lip to a complete fissure (groove) extending into the roof of the mouth and nose. These features may occur separately or together.

We are pleased to share with you some information on adoption. We hope it will help us all to celebrate the adoption in our family and to welcome our new arrival.