How Children Process Adoption at Different Ages

As children grow and mature, their ability to process and comprehend things also changes. Therefore, parents must continuously change how they discuss adoption with their children. In this show, Ellen Singer, adoption therapist and educator with The Center for Adoption Support & Education, talks about how children understand and process adoption at different stages of development and what parents can do to help.

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Hit the Highlights

When should parents start discussing adoption with their child?
What should parents do when adopted children fixate on pregnancy?
How should parents talk about birth parents?
How should parents discuss the cost of adoption with their children?
What should parents do with a child who seems uninterested in discussing adoption?
How do parents discuss adoption when there is very little information about the birth parents or their circumstances of their birth?
How do parents discuss the possibility of a special need factoring into being given up for adoption?
How can parents deal with the lack of documentation (photos, etc.) of their child’s pre-adoption life?
How can parents deal with racial confusion or discontent in trans-racially adopted children?
How should parents discuss difficult conception circumstances (rape, incest, etc.)?
How should parents explain adoption to older siblings?
How should parents introduce the idea of adoption to extended family?
How does understanding of adoption change as children age?
Should parents explain adoption to their child’s class at school?
How can parents deal with economic differences between the adoptive family and the birth family?
Should parents use a birthparent’s history when their children are approaching the teen years?
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