Waiting parents

We are so happy to announce that the Nanji family are the grand prize draw winners of our 2020 Faces of Family contest! Congratulations to the Nanjis! They have won a DJI Tello Iron Man Edition Drone, generously donated by our sponsor, Broadway Camera. Visit them today for all your camera and video needs!

One of the most common questions our Family Support Workers get is “Where are all the babies?” Heather Ratzlaff, former Family Support team member and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter, had this to say on the topic.

In Canada today, contraceptives, abortion, and support for expectant and single mothers are more widely available than ever before. This has led to fewer available infants.

It’s everyone’s favourite time of year again: tax time! This year a reader asked us for help understanding how to claim Canada’s adoption tax credit. In this article, adoptive dad and financial professional John Hakkarainen returns for the third year in a row—this time, to explain the nuts and bolts of line 313.

What is the adoption tax credit and why it is important?

My children often tell me that my jokes are taxing! I am hoping that the guide below helps you to reduce your tax liability so that you have more money to spend on cheese.

In Canada, biological parents are entitled to a longer parental leave than adoptive parents, kin caregivers, and customary caregivers. But research shows adopted children need more time to attach. Time to Attach is a research and advocacy campaign lobbying for 15 more weeks of attachment leave for families formed through adoption, kinship, or customary care arrangements. In this article, two researchers explain the basis for the campaign and how we can bring about change together.

When Ellen and her husband adopted a child from foster care, they were blindsided by the challenges. Now, Ellen is the happy mother of a successful adult daughter. She hopes her story encourages other parents to hold on to hope.

Karon first wrote about her adoption journey in the article “Finding Lucan,” which appeared in the spring 2014 issue of Focus on Adoption. In this article, she shares an update on their life as a family.

This year, when many families celebrated Father’s Day, my son and I enjoyed a very special celebration: eight years as a forever family. June 17 marked the 8th anniversary of the day that I was granted custody of my baby boy in a courthouse in beautiful Hanoi, Vietnam.

Being a parent is never easy. Add in the complexities of adoption, trauma, and special needs, and you’re likely to discover that tactics like time outs and star charts are useless at best. What does that leave you with? Amanda Preston’s surprising suggestions may be just the tricks you need.

Rethinking bad behaviour

You’re standing in your kitchen washing dishes when suddenly your 10-year-old child walks in. He asks if he can have an ice cream sandwich. Dinner is in 5 minutes so you calmly let him know not right now, but after dinner.

A growing number of grandparents in BC are living with and raising their grandchildren. In this story, a grandmother shares her very personal experience with becoming the legal guardian of her daughter’s child. To protect her daughter's and grandchild's privacy, names have been redacted.

Stuck in the system

I remember getting the call from MCFD like it was yesterday. It was Friday, December 30, 2016, at 9 am. A clear, cool day.

In our summer issue, we explored how difficult but important it is to share our not-so-perfect moments. In this piece, Caroline shares one of hers. We hope it encourages you.

“Mom, when did Mamoo see me for the first time?” My child asked this question completely out of the blue. (By the way, Mamoo is my mom.)

I turned to my child and explained that Mamoo came the very next day after my child arrived at our home.

“Did she hold me like this? How did I act to her? Show me how I was held.”

Lori Holden literally wrote the book on open adoption (The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole). In this article, she presents a new way of thinking about openness.