Adoptive parents are told that they must incorporate their child’s birth culture into their life in order to raise healthy adopted children. Can you go overboard? Join our guests Mei-Ling Hopgood, adopted from Taiwan as an infant and author of the book Lucky Girl, and Joy Lieberthal was adopted from Korean at five and is a social worker and therapist in private practice in New York City.
Highlights of the show (click to expand)
- “Another country, not my own” by Mei-Ling Hopgood
- Is it possible to go overboard when embracing your child’s cultural heritage?
- What is the difference between race, heritage and culture and how does it apply to embracing a transracially adopted child’s background?
- What is the difference between embracing your child’s cultural heritage for your child as oppose to embracing your child’s cultural heritage with them?
- How do children fit into the American aspect of their culture (Korean-American vs. Korean vs. American)?
- Are internationally adopted children being robbed of their culture?
- What is culture and how is it connected to race?
- What can parents do to help their child embrace all of their cultures?
- How does maintaining pride in a child’s birth culture relate to preparing them for being a racial minority?
- The importance of mentoring from the adoptive community.
- How does a child’s perspective of their heritage change as they grow?
- Does an intentional exposure to a birth culture make a child feel unique and special or singled out within their family?
- What should parents focus on when highlighting their child’s culture?
- How hard should parents try to maintain their child’s birth language when adopting an older child?
- How do transracially adopted children identify when they are adults?
- What can parents do to help instill cultural pride in their adopted children?
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