Many times, people associate adoption with a childless couple and a newborn baby. They don't think about all the emotional issues that surround an adopted child and adoptive parents.

Families with adopted children face different challenges than those with just biological children. Even adopted children who feel positive about their adoption experience, can face a variety of emotions as they become teenagers. Typical rites of passage may have additional facets for adopted adolescents. They may question their identity and value, suffer from low self-esteem, and experience grief and loss. While some adopted teens are able to work through their feelings on their own or with their friends and family, others need professional help to deal with the range of emotions that arise.

Adoptive parenting can be more complex than parenting biological children can. Adoptive parents face unique challenges raising adopted children. While it is important for traditional parents to keep the lines of communication open with their children, it is even more crucial for adoptive parents, especially as adopted children become teenagers. Adopted teens will have additional issues to face as they mature into adults.

Our articles feature topics specifically for families with adoptees. Check out our resources to find additional help. Visit our blog daily for information relating to adoption, adopted teens, and adoptive parents.

New Articles for Adoptive Families

Addressing the Needs of Adopted Teens
Most parents agree the adolescent and teen years are without question the most challenging for their children and for the family as a whole. This can be especially true in the case of adopted children who, like all teens, struggle with issues related to who they are and who they want to be. Imagine the added confusion during this crucial developmental stage, when teens reflect on their unique situation as an adopted child. Read more >>

Book Review - Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens
Book review of Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens by Debbie Riley and Dr. John Meeks. Read more >>

• Adoption Groups Provide Needed Support to Troubled Teens

  Support groups specifically for adopted children are beneficial to teens whose issues directly relate to being adopted. more...

• Your Adopted Child Wants to Find His Biological Parents - Now What?

  While not all children will want to come face-to-face with the parents that gave them up for adoption, there is a good chance that your adopted child will have a natural curiosity about his parents. more...

• Making the Holidays Easier for Your Adopted Children

  For adopted children, the holidays may be a time of unanswerable questions, a feeling of disconnection and a sense of emptiness. more...

• Body Image across Cultures

  The way that people view their bodies varies throughout cultures and ethnicities. more...

• About Reactive Attachment Disorder

  Children with reactive attachment disorder struggle to forge emotional attachments to others, often because of serious disruptions in their early relationships. In most cases, specialized treatment programs can help these children develop meaningful connections with the world around them. more...

• Help! My Child Has Been Diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder

  There are a number of therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, and wilderness therapy programs that specialize in treating children and teens with Reactive Attachment Disorder. more...

• Does Adoption Spell Troubles for Teens?

  All kids struggle in adolescence, but do adopted teens struggle more? Although most adopted teens lead healthy, stable lives, studies have shown that they are at "slightly increased risk" for behavioral problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or oppositional defiant disorder. more...

• Where Did I Come From? What do I say to my kids about donor-assisted reproduction?

  Children do best when they know where they come from; that refers to both a genetic history as well as a relationship history. Feelings of betrayal are stimulated when secrets are kept and then inevitably found out. So the first step in considering what, how, when and even if to talk your children is to examine your own feelings. more...

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