Attachment Issues with Adoption
Attachment is the process of of forming emotional bonds between parent and child. For healthy emotional development throughout life, the child must attach to her parents, but it is just as true that the parent has to attach to the child. Attachment is not necessarily automatic with children adopted past infancy, but attachment can be taught and learned, and there are activities and attachment parenting techniques that can help both children and parents bond.
Creating a Family has extensive resources on attachment in adoption both to help the child attach to the parents and help parents attach to their children. A few we think you will find particularly helpful are:
- The Connected Child: Creating Attachment in Adopted Children (1 hr. radio interview with Dr. Karyn Purvis)
- When Parents Struggle to Attach To Their Adopted Child (1 hr. radio interview)
- When Parents Fail to Attach to Their Adopted Child (blog post)
- Will My Adopted Child Love Me As Much As If I Was His Birth Mom? (blog post)
- Suggested Books on Attachment and Attachment Issues for Adoptive Parents
Many more Creating a Family radio interviews with experts, videos, blogs, fact sheets, and Q and A’s with Experts on attachment can be found at the icons below.
Image credit: Suzanne Hanlon
Additional Resources
