1) You are more prepared to be a parent after going through the adoption process than being pregnant 9 months!
2) All adoption agencies are pulling from the same pool of birth moms, no one agency has “better babies” than the next
3) Your child’s birth family information belongs to them, not you. It is okay to give the answer, “It is private,” when someone asks, “Was the birth mom young?” This immediately stops the inappropriate line of questioning.
4) Love is thicker than blood. Your child will never be “confused” about who their parents are. When they fall and get hurt, they will come running for you because you are the one who cares for them day in and day out!
5) Open adoptions can be wonderful, healthy and healing if all of the parties involved are respectful of boundaries and are in good mental and emotional health. You as parents will know what is best for your family.
6) Adoption education doesn’t end once a child has been placed in your arms. It continues throughout your child’s life.
- a) You must educate yourself about adoption-specific issues that your child will face as he/she grows and matures.
- b) You must educate your child about adoption throughout their life in an age-appropriate manner.
- c) You must educate those closest to your child (family, friends, teachers, classmates) about proper adoption language and boundaries when questions come up about adoption.
- d) Get support from Adoptive Families of Houston for all of the education needs above!
7) Normalize adoption for your kids by facilitating friendships with other adoptive kids close in age to your kid(s). Again, AFH is great for this!
8) Both nature and nurture play an equally important role in how your child will turn out.
9) Always speak respectfully about your child’s birth parents. You want your child to grow up and value her/his birth parents, despite their imperfections.
10) Celebrate adoption!
- a) November is National Adoption month. We celebrate by reading an adoption book at school and sending home a letter about positive adoption language.
- b) Celebrate your child’s adoption finalization day. I usually bake a sweet treat to celebrate the occasion at home.
- c) Celebrate with your adoption community at Adoptive Families of Houston’s annual picnic on October 16th!