Media Review:Adoptive Families Magazine

by Pam Connell | More from this Blogger

30 Aug 2007 12:27 PM

Adoptive Families is a comprehensive bimonthly adoption magazine which covers all types of adoption-domestic and international, infant and older child, open, semi-open and confidential, and adopting from foster care. I have found the coverage to be very well-balanced among the different types. In the past two years I have canceled several magazine subscriptions because I don't have time to read them. Adoptive Families, by contrast, is read cover to cover before I go to bed the day it is delivered.

The magazine is written almost entirely by adoptive families. There are sections of advice from experts such as counselors, social workers, researchers, adoption agency staff, attorneys, and physicians, but even these professionals are also adoptive family members (mostly parents, but also adult adoptees). Each issue contains at least a dozen letters from adoptive parents, plus photos and comments submitted by families and responses to reader polls.

The three main features in the newest issue are: dealing with school assignments such as family trees, baby photos, autobiographies and heritage reports; sleep issues; and post-adoption depression.

Regular departments include Bulletin Board and News Notes, featuring adoption statistics, ethnic and networking websites, legislative updates and updates on foreign countries' changing adoption policies, and an adoption-related Events Calendar.

"Growing Up Adopted" features a one or two-page article each issue for parents of each age group: 0-2 years, 3-5 years, 6-8 years, 9-12 years, and 13+. The last issue topics for each age group were, respectively, breastfeeding and adoption; dealing with strangers' questions in the presence of your preschooler; preparing your child to answer questions often raised by peers at age 6-8; providing role models of many different cultures; and the perils and advantages of teens turning to the Internet for adoption answers.

My kids especially love to see the Family Album, two pages of snapshots submitted by readers which give the ages of the children and where they were born. My kids enjoy seeing families with both birth and adoptive children, children adopted both from the U.S. and other countries, children adopted from Korea like them, and children adopted from China, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Russia, Guatemala and more. It reinforces that delightful families, with kids not so different from themselves, can be formed in dozens of unique ways.

Other features include Waiting Game, Single Parent, Parenting the Child Who Waited, Our Story (a reader personal experience essay), Family Album, Media Reviews, At Home, Adoption Medicine, Parenting Transracially, and Open Adoption.

Adoptive Families is published bimonthly. Subscription rates are $24.95 US, $32.95 CAN, $36.95 other international by New Hope MediaSubscription information can be found at adoptivefamilies.com/customerservice.

Please see these related blogs:

Book Review: Making Sense of Adoption

Chinese Birthparents Found: More to Come?

Networking in the Adoption World

Learn more about Pam Connell

Pam Connell is a mother of three by both birth and adoption. She has worked in education, child care, social services, ministry and journalism.

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