In most ways, parenting adopted children is like parenting children by birth – you love, you teach, you worry, and you set limits. You thrill in their accomplishments and you support them through their failures because that is what parents do. However, parenting a child that is born to and shares genetic ties with another family has some unique issues about which adoptive parents need to be aware.
We cover some of these issues in other sections of this site, such as talking with kids about adoption, school issues, and prenatal exposure. The rest we cover here.
The primary effect that the internet has had on adoptive parenting is the ready availability of information on birth family. This is a challenge for some adoptive families.
Creating a Family has many other resources to help you navigate the issues presented by the Internet on the additional resource icons at the bottom of this page. Here is an example of what you will find:
- Top Ten Adoptive Parenting Tips for Facebook and the Internet (fact sheet)
- The Internet’s Effect on Adoption (blog post)
- Common Sense Internet Rules For Kids (Adopted or Otherwise) (blog post)
- Parenting the Adopted Child in the Age of Social Networking (7 min. video)
Creating a Family has many resources for Adoptive Parenting. Here are a few that we think you will find particularly helpful:
- Using Scripts to Build Trust with Foster & Adopted Kids (blog post)
- Centering the Adoptee Experience in Adoption Narratives (guest blog post)
- Protective Factors That Help Your Child Overcome High ACEs (blog post)
- Maintaining Relationships When Adopting or Fostering (1 hr. radio interview w/ expert)
- Parenting Tweens and Teens (1 hr. radio interview w/ expert)
- 7 Core Issues in Adoption and Foster Care (1 hr. radio interview w/ expert)
- Suggested Books for Adopted Children (booklists are broken down by age level)
Many more Creating a Family radio interviews with experts, videos, blogs, fact sheets, and Q and A’s with Experts on adoptive parenting can be found at the icons below.