Telling your child about Adoption
Posted: March 28, 2008In this day when 1 in 5 couples is infertile, more and more families are looking to adoption as an alternative choice.
For those who have taken this step or are presently contemplating it, there is the issue of how to tell the child that he or she is adopted. Let me offer 4 suggestions that I hope will be helpful.
First, begin talking to your toddlers about their adoption before they can understand the meaning of the words. That way, there will never be a moment when disclosure is necessary.
Second, celebrate 2 birthdays with equal gusto each year. The anniversary of their birth and the anniversary of the day they became your child.
Third, present the adoptive event as something that brought great excitement to the household. The child’s intrepretation of the adoptive event is almost totally dependent on the manner in which it is conveyed during their early years.
Fourthly, when the foundation has been laid and the issue diffused, then forget it. Do not constantly remind the child of his uniqueness to the point of foolishness.
I believe it is possible, by following these common-sense suggestions, to raise an adopted child without psychological trauma or personal insult.
By Dr James Dobson.
