January 04, 2015

Adoption News Roundup

This adoptive mama talks about her biggest fear in adoption — not that she wouldn’t love her son, but what if he can’t attach to her? “But if I could say one thing to those worried about whether or not they can love an adopted child, and if that adopted child will love them, I would just say: Yes! Of course! Love has nothing to do with biology. Love your child, laugh and smile and snuggle and cuddle, feed, change, bathe, and take care of your child… and he will love you back, no matter where he spent his time in utero. Biology alone does not make or break a mother or father. Being there day after day does. That’s where the real magic is.” What do you think? Was this your experience?

“I was sitting with an old friend at a party in her backyard, our children playing on the climbing structure, as the sun went down, and, as we often did, we talked about parenthood. We’re pretty much on the same page in most areas, but that night she said a sentence that struck me mute: “Even you know that an adopted child will never feel the same as one you gave birth to.” Read how this dad responded here.

To transracial families: did you ever have concerns about your family not “matching?”

Looking for a way to dive into service work in 2015? Here are 101 ways to get involved in foster care!

An absolutely fascinating article about baby brains, and comparisons between the brains of babies who were never institutionalized, those who are moved to foster care after age 2, and those moved to foster care before age 2. “The researchers found that children who received more attention and nurturing at home tended to have higher IQs. Children who were more cognitively stimulated performed better on language tasks, and those nurtured more warmly did better on memory tasks.” No matter how it comes around, the answer is clear: Children need love, support and nurturing for proper development.

Looks like 2015 is going to be a pretty incredible year for adoption in the movies. Are any of these on your must-see list? We’re particularly excited about Annie and Into the Woods…