Search Results for: blog advantages of reunion with birth family for child and teen adoptees

Open Adoption Crusader Dies

When my husband and I were taking the PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) classes in order to become licensed foster/adopt parents we were assigned with creating a family tree for a future child. It was fun and I got to know more about my husband’s family. My dad has all of us signed up at Geni.com where we’re building a very nice family tree. Millions of people may not feel that deep sense of connection with their families because their families did not give birth to them. When I first learned what adoption was all about I … Continue reading →

Preparing for and Processing a Reunion: Expectations and Emotions

My last blogs talked about children’s experience of open adoption and possible advantages of a meeting between the child and birth family members. Counselors and social workers familiar with adoption issues can provide invaluable help in preparing for and dealing with such a reunion. Adoption workers may help birth and adoptive parents share and manage expectations, and help them process their own adoption issues so that they can be focused on the needs of the child. For one birthfather, these sessions covered the circumstances of his daughter’s birth and adoption, his feelings for her then and now, his relationship with … Continue reading →

Advantages of Reunion with Birth Family for Child and Teen Adoptees

Many adoptive parents tell their children that they will help them search for their birthparents when they turn eighteen. However, more and more adoptive parents are reaching out to their children’s birth families earlier. Sometimes it is the adoptive parent who desires medical history, information their children may want in the future, or simply a chance to thank the birthmother and reassure her that her child is well and happy. Sometimes a birth parent makes the first contact. In other cases, it is the child or teen adoptee who indicates a strongly felt need or desire for information. Some children … Continue reading →