Adoptive Parenting

Adoptive Parenting

In most ways, parenting adopted children is like parenting children by birth – you love, teach, worry, and set limits. You thrill in their accomplishments, and you support them through their failures because that is what parents do.

However, parenting a child born to and sharing genetic ties with another family has some unique issues of 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.

What Unique Considerations Should Adoptive Parents Consider for Kids Using the Internet?

The Internet, along with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and whatever the latest social networking site might be, has fundamentally changed the face of adoption. Like most changes, the effects can be positive and negative, but regardless of the negatives, the Internet is here to stay, and adoptive parents need to learn how to parent in this environment.

The primary effect that the internet has had on adoptive parenting is the ready availability of information on birth families. This is a challenge for some adoptive families, particularly if your child’s adoption is not open to some degree.

Creating a Family has many other resources to help you navigate the issues presented by the internet at the additional resource icons at the bottom of this page. Here is an example of what you will find:

Handling Social Media & Birth Family Contact with Your Adopted, Foster, or Kinship Kids (article)
Navigating the Internet with Adopted or Foster Tweens and Teens (article)
Handling Screens and Technology as a Family (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
Handling Social Media as an Adoptive or Foster Parent (online parent/caregiver training course from CreatingaFamilyEd.org)

Creating a Family has many other resources for Adoptive Parenting. Here are a few of the most recent resources we think you will find particularly helpful:

Open Adoption and the Holidays (article)
How Do You Manage Relationships with Birth Parents with Substance Use Disorders? (article)
Kinship Adoption: Lessons Learned Along the Way (article)
The Holidays with Adopted, Foster, or Kinship Kids Who’ve Been Exposed to Trauma (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
Advocating for Your Child With Prenatal Substance Exposure (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
Helping Your Child Cope with Living in a Scary World (1 hr. podcast w/ expert)
Suggested Books for Adopted Children (booklists broken down by age level)

Many more Creating Family podcasts, articles, and fact sheets on adoptive parenting can be found at the icons below.