How to talk to kids about their adoption

Learn about: How to talk to kids about their adoption from Jeanette Yoffe, MA, MFT,...
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How to talk to kids about their adoption

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You can start talking with your child about adoption as early as the first day of their life. There is a book that is called, “Talking to babies,” which talks about how nurses are now talking the narrative of what is occurring in that child’s life as early as infancy, “You are with your birth mother, you’re living your birth mother. You’re going to live with this family. This is your new mother.” Really letting the child know the truth. Children need to know the truth. They deserve to know the truth. If they don’t, there will be a part of them that feels something isn’t right. They will have an… they will have a feeling that something is missing. There is this word called the primal wound – they will feel like there is a missing piece in their life and that will actually cause more pathology for them down the line if they don’t know. So it’s important to tell your child – read books, be open, normalize adoption, be positive about it and connect with that child’s grief, loss and anger about it too – they’re both necessary and part of the process.

Learn about: How to talk to kids about their adoption from Jeanette Yoffe, MA, MFT,...

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Jeanette Yoffe, MA, MFT

Adoption & Family Therapist

Jeanette Yoffe earned her master's degree in Clinical Psychology, specializing in children, from Antioch University. She treats children with serious psychological problems secondary to histories of abuse, neglect, and or multiple placements. Jeanette's desire to become a child therapist with a special focus on adopted and foster care issues derived from her own experience of being adopted and moving through the foster care system. She runs a monthly support group called Adopt Salon for all members of the adoption triad in Los Angeles.

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