When Do You Tell Your Child He or She is Adopted?

Once adoption takes place, the decision about when and how to tell your child about adoption may become important. Using open communication from the beginning, it becomes just natural and simply the way a child’s life is. When the children know, right from the beginning of adopted family life, there is no shock value and it is less likely there will be big issues in relation to adoption for the child. The adoptive parents’ attitude will bleed over into the attitude of the adopted child. When it’s talked about naturally in the home, there is a sense of pride and an absence of shame. For most adoptees and adoptive parents in a family where adoption is openly discussed, negative feelings about adoption are sparse.