Parental guidance: Adoption questions
Experts answer your adoption questions. Credit: iStock
Parents should make the child feel like the whole family is different as a unit, Cook advises. Teach your child to respond this way: "We are an international family." Or: "We are an interracial family." He can explain that he is from China, for instance, and that he was born somewhere else but then became a part of his family.
Often, though, the answer might lead the curious child to ask follow-up questions. It's OK for your child to say, "That's personal." He doesn't have to answer every single question.
Make sure your child communicates to you if he's being asked a lot of questions from classmates. Organizations such as Spence-Chapin offer general adoption education workshops in schools. "It's a really cool way to take the pressure off one particular child," Cook says. Incidentally, November is National Adoption Month. For more information about this question and others, call Spence-Chapin at 631-979-5863.
