- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- iparenting adoption articles
- iparenting adoption q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Adoption Ages and Stages
What to Expect By Sabrina Glidden
Norita Dean ofParma, Ohio, adopted four children ranging in age from 3 to 6 who had been in foster homes. Their questions indicate their efforts to try and piece together the missing parts of their history and the reasons for their adoptions. "They have basically wanted to know why they were taken away from their birthparents," she says.
According to information provided by the NAIC, the more comfortable parents are in trying to answer questions honestly, the more encouraged their children will be to learn. And yet for Dean, who knows her children have a history of abuse, she has given very vague answers, waiting until they are old enough to understand the reasons for their separation from their biological parents.
Her plan is to fully disclose their history to them when they're ready. Since she was also adopted as a child, she feels that what they need is an opportunity to see the positives in their experiences. Her parents read a book to her about adoption that helped her put together the facts of her origins with where she fit into the family. She is doing the same for her children.
Champnella began reading Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale (Henry Holt & Company, 1997) by Karen Katz and I Love You Like Crazy Cakes