Telling Adopted Children About Their Adoption
Telling Adopted Children About Their Adoption
Adoptive parents must decide if and when to tell their children about their adoption. In the past, parents often kept information related to the adoption from the child until he or she became an adult. Some parents never told their adopted children about their adoption. Most adoptive parents withheld this information to protect their children from the trauma of discovering that they were not biologically related to other family members. When such children discovered that they were adopted, the bond of trust between parent and child often suffered. Sometimes family relationships deteriorated as a result.
Today most parents tell children about their adoption at the earliest possible age. Children accept and absorb the fact of their adoption in different ways at different stages of their development. Knowing the story behind their adoption allows children to gradually come to terms with their past, rather than having to deal with psychological issues related to adoption later in life. (1)
In this Section: Adoption, Adoption and Foster Care, Adoption Contents (including Adoptions by Relatives or Stepparents, Agency and Private-Placement Adoptions, Adoptions: Intermediaries and Materially Assisting Persons and Open and Closed Adoptions), Adoption Legal Issues, International Adoption, Psychological Stress and Adoption Support Groups, Telling Adopted Children About Their Adoption, Searching for Biological Parents and Transracial Adoptions.
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