Adoption Blog

  • Why Open Adoption Isn’t Confusing To Children

    For decades people have debated the effects of open adoption and whether ongoing contact was harmful to the individuals involved. Of particular concern was whether it caused problems for children. Some argued that open adoption created confusion about who a child’s real parents were, which lead to issues with self-esteem and identify. But now the co-author of a groundbreaking study on open adoption says his findings contradict these concerns and others regarding birth families and adoptive parents. According to Harold D. Grotevant, the Rudd Family Foundation Chair

  • “Why Don’t Birthmothers Like Us?”

        “Why don’t birthmothers like us?” The question came out of the blue, but it wasn’t completely unexpected. Other prospective adoptive parents had asked it before. I’m sure I did too when were waiting to adopt. It came from a prospective adoptive mother I’ll called Pam. For nearly two years, she and her husband had been waiting to get picked by an expectant mother with an adoption plan. And yet despite a few inquires that didn’t pan out, they were still waiting to get

  • #ILoveAdoption: 23 Messages Of Adoption Love That Will Warm Your Heart

    Adoption is about love. That’s why we at Canada Adopts! look forward to Valentine’s Day every year. It’s the day when we get to celebrate our love for others and for families created through adoption. We wanted to know what our readers love about adoption so we asked them to share their thoughts using the hashtag #ILoveAdoption on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Here’s what they told us.

  • 8 Things I Wish I Knew About Writing An Adoption Profile Letter

    Babies come to their families in different ways. Sometimes, the stork brings them. In our case, our adoption profile letter did. It was how our children’s birth families first discovered us and the reason why they eventually chose to place with us. Even though we couldn’t be happier with the way that things worked out, writing our letter was no easy task. At times, it was even harder than the wait. Here are 8 things I learned about writing our adoption profile

  • Why Adoptees Need To Choose Their Own Life Path

    This guest post is by Mariette Williams, an adoptee.  One of my favorite quotes is Mary Oliver’s “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” We all grow up with big dreams and aspirations, but for some, those aspirations feel more like obligations. As a transracial adoptee from Haiti, I grew up with the idea that my life had to mean something, that I had to do something great or my life would be a

  • 10 Great Ways Adoptive Parents Can Bond With Their Child

      This guest post is by Jackie Gillard, an adoptive parent and blogger. Like many new parents via adoption, attachment was our highest priority when we adopted our daughter. I read many adoption books and spent my days with her using as many suggestions to foster attachment as I could find. It’s important to keep in mind that not every child – or parent – will respond the same way to attachment ideas and activities. It’s best to try a

  • Open Embryo Donation vs. Open Adoption: What’s the Difference?

    This guest post is by Angela Krueger, an adoptive mother and parenting writer.   The first time I heard about open embryo donation was about four years ago when the first Canadian agency started its program. Having been through the infertility route I had heard of embryo donation before mainly in the U.S. (usually called embryo adoption) and also through fertility clinics, but never really thought about the concept of openness regarding this way of making a family. As a result,

  • 14 Worst Excuses For Not Writing Your Adoption Profile

      If something is important to you, the saying goes, you’ll find a way to do it. If not, you’ll find an excuse. Is writing an adoption profile on your to-do list this year? If it is, you may be struggling to start it. And then finding excuses not to do it. Writing a profile is no easy task. But it’s one of the most important ingredients in any adoption networking strategy. So the sooner you recognize what’s holding you back, the sooner

  • What’s The Best Gift You Can Give A Birthmother?

    Now that the holidays are almost here, you’re scrambling to find the perfect last-minute gift for everyone on your list. There’s your brother who hates presents of any kind, your sister-in-law who never has a nice thing to say about you, and the cousin that you haven’t seen in years. But this year there’s a new family member on your list: your child’s birthmother. What do you give someone who has given you the gift of parenthood? A piece of jewelry? A photo of

  • Waiting To Adopt? The One Question I Guarantee You’ll Be Asked This Week

    I’ve never been very good at making predictions. When it comes to foreseeing the future, I usually leave that for others to figure out. But if you’re waiting to adopt, I can promise you that this week somewhere, some day, someone will ask you THE question that every waiting parent fears, and eventually hears, over the holidays, if it hasn’t happened already: “How many children do you have?” It could happen when you’re dropping in at a neighbor’s party. Or at a friend’s. Or at a