6 Tips To Prepare Children For Adopted Siblings

6 Tips To Prepare Children For Adopted Siblings

6 Tips To Prepare Children For Adopted Siblings

Hand Holding a Drawing - San Antonio, TX - Adoption Angels

There are different ways to build a family, and more and more families are choosing to adopt. Adoption can be a beautiful and rewarding experience for children and parents involved. But it's also a significant change for everyone involved, especially children.

If you're thinking about adopting, or if you're already in the process of adoption, you should involve your children in the journey. Read on to learn six tips to help prepare your children for an adopted sibling.


1. Explain the Adoption Process

You should explain the adoption process to your children. Let them know that you're working with an agency to find a child who needs a home. You should also let them know that there may be a long wait before the child comes home but that you're doing everything possible to make it happen as soon as possible.


2. Read Books About Adoption

Another way to prepare your child for an adopted sibling is to read books about adoption together. You can easily access books about adoption for children of all ages, so you're sure to find one that's perfect for your family.

Adoption books can help your child understand the adoption process and what it means to have an adopted sibling. It can also help them know that there are all kinds of families and that every family is unique. Lastly, adoption books can help your children see adoption as a positive and rewarding experience.


3. Involve Your Child in the Adoption Journey

Adoption can be a long and complicated process, so it's essential to involve your child in the journey as much as possible. This can help them feel more connected to the process and less anxious about the changes.

There are different ways to involve your child in the adoption process. For example, you can involve them in the decision-making process, keep them updated on your progress, and let them know what they can expect. You can also involve them in the practical aspects of adoption, such as choosing their new sibling's name, picking out clothes and toys, and helping decorate their new sibling's room.

If you can, take them with you to meet their new sibling before they come home, then you should. This will help them feel more prepared and excited for the new arrival.


4. Prepare Your Child for Changes

Adoption can bring many changes to a family, and you should prepare your child for those changes. Talk to them about how their life might change, such as a new home, a new school, or a new sibling.

You should also talk to them about the changes they might see in you, such as more work, less free time, or less sleep. Help them understand that these changes are normal and that you'll still be there for them.


5. Be Realistic

Adoption can be a beautiful and rewarding experience, but remember that it's not always easy. There will be challenges and obstacles along the way, and it's essential to be prepared for them. Talk to your children about the challenges you might face and how you'll overcome them together as a family.


6. Give it Time

Adoption can be a big adjustment for everyone involved. It can take several months for a family to feel like a cohesive unit. There will be good and bad days, but you should remember that it takes time to build a family. With patience and love, your family will eventually come together and thrive.

Adoption is beautiful, and following these tips can help make the transition smoother for everyone involved.


If you consider adoption, Adoption Angels can help. We're a full-service child-placing agency with over 45 years of experience. We offer expert guidance and fill you in on everything you need to know about the adoption process. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help you build your family.

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By Brittany Carvalho December 19, 2024
Hello & Thank You , First off, let's introduce ourselves. Our names are Amy, Hao, and our not so little man James Paul. We want you to know how grateful we are to you for looking at our book. Our goal is for you to get to know who we are in an honest and real way. Adoption has a complex variety of feelings for all parties involved, especially for you. We can't begin to understand the emotional and overwhelming circumstances you have had to face in making these difficult decisions. We want you to know we support you and think that what you are doing is selfless and generous beyond comprehension. From an early age, I knew carrying a child to full term would be highly unlikely. So, when we met, having children was a part of our early conversations. We always wanted a family and knew adoption was going to be how we would become parents. This led us to adopt our beautiful and sweet son, James. We have so much more love to share with another child, and James is waiting with open arms and a welcoming smile. Our upbringing has significantly shaped who we are today, including our parenting style and how we plan for our future. Both of our parents are still married, and observing their relationship through both happy and challenging times has taught us the importance of commitment in maintaining a long-lasting marriage. Our family includes no shortage of caring aunts, fun uncles, and many young cousins to grow up with. One thing you can be certain of is DOTING GRANDPARENTS!! We are blessed that we can go to anyone in our family for guidance, advice, and support. You could not ask for a more dedicated crew of family members. We promise to you that we will honor you in the way you deserve. We will share with you the progress of your wonderful and cherished child's life. You'll be part of their life story from their earliest days to the questions that arise with growing curiosity. Your role will always be respected, valued, and cherished. We hope that our book gives you insight into who we are as people and as a family. Our very different strengths will lead to us raising well-rounded children. Together, we will teach them the importance of acceptance and kindness to those around them while still allowing them to be independent and able to stand up for themselves. Hao and I share the greatest hope of raising our children and providing them with safety and security, all with an embarrassing amount of love and affection. Thank you for considering us; we could not do it without you. Sincerely, Hao & Amy
By Brittany Carvalho December 13, 2024
Hello & Thank You , Just saying thank you isn't enough for us to express our gratitude for considering us to be adoptive parents. We cannot begin to understand how difficult this decision is and that it is not taken lightly. No matter your decision, you are in our thoughts and prayers. We are Amanda and Spencer. We have been together over ten years and have been married for three. From the very beginning of our relationship, we talked about starting a family, but God had different plans for us. Unfortunately, Amanda has faced health challenges that have led to infertility, which won't allow us to have our own biological children. Adoption has touched both our lives in meaningful ways. Spencer's mother was adopted, and she is ecstatic that we are pursuing this path. In addition, Spencer has two adopted cousins, and I have one as well. Both of our families are loving and supportive of our decision, and we are all ready to share unconditional love with a child. Since we both have relatives who were adopted, we believe it is important for your child to understand their adoption story from the very beginning. We look forward to sharing with your child just how special they and their birth family are to us. The relationship between a child and their birth family is significant, and we strongly support an open adoption. There is no such thing as too many people to love and support a child. Raised in the Catholic faith, we plan to instill the same values in our future child. We cherish faith, family, community, friendships, and love, and we will teach the importance of hard work and the achievements it can bring. With both our families and friends nearby, your child will be surrounded by a loving network of support. Thank you for the time to read our story and consider us as potential adoptive parents. We wish you peace on this journey and the very best for you and your child. Sincerely, Spencer & Amanda
By Brittany Carvalho December 12, 2024
Hello & Thank You , We are Damon and Amanda, and we thank you for taking the time to learn more about our family. We can't imagine how hard this choice must be, and we have SO much respect for you. Your courage is truly admirable. We hope our story will be helpful as you make your choice. Please know that no matter what you decide, we wish you and your child nothing but the best, and you will both be in our prayers. We would love to share a little about ourselves, and hopefully, this book will give you a clear picture of who we are! We have grown so much during our years of marriage! Our journey has included buying a house, starting new jobs, surviving a pandemic, experiencing years of infertility and loss, going on many trips, and so much more. Throughout the highs and lows, our relationship has only become stronger. We feel very blessed to have wonderful parents and grandparents who model healthy relationships. They have taught us invaluable lessons and instilled strong morals in us. From the beginning, we have known that we wanted children and planned to have them at a young age. However, we faced three years of infertility and treatments, which ultimately resulted in loss. Going through it all taught us many important lessons and brought us even closer to each other and to God. We have always wanted to adopt, and we feel that now is the right time to do it! For us, raising a child means reading books together before bed, quality family time, lots of outdoor adventures, supporting whatever dreams he/she may have, and a home full of laughter. We value communication, kindness, and passion. Our goal is to create a loving environment that inspires creativity and curiosity, embraces differences, and opens opportunities for learning and growth. Our home is filled with warmth, love, laughter, and support. Adoption means a lot to us! It represents strong people who love a child so much that they come together to build a wonderful relationship, ensuring the best care for that child. We have inspiring adoption stories within our extended family and friends, and we are grateful for their incredible support as we embark on this journey. Our utmost hope is to be the family that provides hope, love, support, and care for your child. We promise to raise them in an encouraging, safe, and loving home, striving to be the best parents we can be. We will encourage them to follow their dreams and support them every step of the way. Your child will grow up knowing their story and understanding just how loved they are by all of us. We can't express how grateful we are to be considered as potential adoptive parents for your child. Thank you again for reading about us! Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. Sincerely, Damon & Amanda
By Brittany Carvalho December 10, 2024
Hello & Thank You , Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about us. While we cannot say we understand the emotions, decisions, and journey you are facing, we recognize and honor the enormous gift you are sharing with a family like ours. We are Christi and Michael. We have been together for 6 years and married for 4. When we first started dating, I shared with Michael that biological children might not be a possibility for me due to the reproductive issues I had experienced. When Michael stated without hesitation that he was open to adoption, I knew he was someone special. After trying the recommended fertility treatments to ensure we were never left wondering, “What if?” we started our adoption journey feeling relieved and confident this was the path meant for us. Part of what drew us to each other was how we viewed our families and our desires to have a family of our own. Both of our lives have been touched by adoption in various ways. Therefore, we knew we were ready to start our adoption journey. In 2023, we welcomed our daughter, Isabel (Izzy), into our lives through adoption. Izzy has brought so much joy, laughter, love, and fun to our lives ever since. We are so grateful to have been chosen as Izzy’s adoptive parents and are blessed to guide her on this journey of life. We believe it is important for your child to understand their adoption story from the beginning and look forward to letting them know how truly special they and their birth family are to us. We welcome an open adoption as we value the relationship between a child and their birth family. Children can never have too many people who love and support them. We have established a small group of friends who have young, adopted children and enjoy meeting them throughout the year. We believe it will be valuable for our children to have the opportunity to be around other adopted children throughout their lives. There are adoptees in that group, and we talk openly with them about their experience as adoptees to help us gain insight into their perspective. With a large family nearby, your child will be loved and surrounded by many family members, friends, and a faith community. In addition to providing your child with unconditional love, we hope to instill the qualities of honesty, integrity, faith, kindness, the value of family, and perseverance. Both of us come from hard working families where we each learned to be independent, responsible, and self-sufficient, knowing we always had our families supporting us. We appreciate your time and continue to pray for you and the decisions that lie ahead. You are a beautiful person, and you are giving an invaluable gift. We hope you feel the love and peace you deserve. Sincerely, Michael & Christi
By Brittany Carvalho December 9, 2024
Hello & Thank You , There's no way for us to begin understanding your life, struggles, and victories. Hopefully, we can play a part in one another's stories- sharing and growing through all the ups and downs that this world has to offer. Know that if chosen, we will love your child unconditionally and fiercely protect and shelter them all the day of our lives. This whole process feels a little surreal, and finding the perfect words to say them is a challenge. Thank you, though, for even looking at this book and taking a peek into our lives. We want to reassure you that we have the utmost respect and admiration for you, regardless of the path you choose. We are confident that whomever you choose to raise your baby will be the perfect fit! Regardless of where each of our lives goes, we want you to know you are continuously in our hearts and minds. After struggling with infertility and going through several fertility treatments, we made the decision not to pursue IVF. We felt like God was pulling on our hearts to bring someone into our lives in a different way. After much prayer and conversation, we decided adoption was the clear path, and we're excited to grow our family this way. Following the completion of our home study and application with Adoption Angels, we were in disbelief one morning when Alexandra took a pregnancy test, and it was positive. However, during our daily evening walk that day, we both knew that we wholeheartedly wanted to continue to pursue adoption. Alexandra comes from a large family where many of her brothers and sisters are close in age, her brother Russ being a mere 18 months apart from her. Growing up so close in age, we were less siblings and more partners and crime- each other’s best confidants and adventure buddies as we traveled the world with the military. The loyalty, utter love, and connection we feel toward each other are hard to explain, and to this day, my siblings and my brother's wife are my best friends. We would be over the moon excited to raise children who would experience this bond and feel the same love and closeness. It’s becoming clearer to us every day that this is the path God has been leading us on all along. Know that no matter how a child comes into our family, we plan to love them exactly as we love our son, Adrian- with every fiber of our being! Thank you again so much for reading our story! Aaron & Alex
By Brittany Carvalho December 8, 2024
Hello & Thank You , Our names are Brandon and Melody, and we are so glad to meet you! We can’t fully understand the weight of the decision you’re facing in making an adoption plan, but we deeply admire your courage and strength. What you are considering would bring immense joy to a family who has likely spent years longing for a child to love. Please know we are praying for you and your child, and that God will grant you peace in whatever decision you make. Through this letter and album, we’d like to share a bit about ourselves and why we’ve chosen adoption. We met and married in southern California and have been married for 12 years. Since moving to Texas, we’ve built a loving home and community here. We believe God called us to be parents, and while our path to parenthood has been unexpected, adoption has always been on our hearts. Melody was adopted at birth and understands the incredible blessings of adoption firsthand. After five years, many tests, and three failed IUI attempts, we began pursuing adoption. In December 2023, we were blessed to adopt our son, Aiden, and our lives have been forever changed. Now, we hope to adopt again to share our love with another child and allow Aiden to grow up with a sibling. If chosen to be your child’s adoptive parents, we promise to raise them in a loving Christian home, teaching Biblical principles and morals. We’ll provide opportunities for them to grow, learn, thrive, and develop a deep sense of love, respect, and responsibility, all while offering unconditional love and support. Additionally, Melody can uniquely answer any questions your child may have about their adoption as they grow. We are surrounded by a large, loving network of family, friends, and a supportive church community who will joyfully welcome your child into our lives. Melody’s experience as an adopted child makes her especially sensitive to the importance of understanding one’s roots. If chosen, we hope to develop an ongoing relationship with you and walk alongside you in this journey. For years, we prayed for a child to join our family, and God’s answer came when Aiden came into our lives. We are excited to see what He has planned next for our family’s growth. Thank you for taking the time to consider us as parents. Please know we are praying for you, your child, and your decision, whatever it may be. Sincerely,  Brandon & Melody
By Brittany Carvalho December 6, 2024
Hello & Thank You , How do you write to someone you haven’t met yet but already feel an overwhelming sense of connection and love for? It begins by letting you know that we admire and have the deepest respect for your incredibly brave and selfless decision. You are giving a gift and opportunity to a family that they are unable to achieve on their own. We are Michelle, Josh, and Otto. We had always dreamed of starting a family, and after a 10-year struggle with infertility, our prayers were answered when we were matched with an amazing birth mom in 2022. Three exciting months later, Otto Joseph was born on April 1. Our lives were forever changed, and we haven’t stopped smiling. We want to assure you that if you choose us to be the adoptive parents of your precious baby, they will be cherished and loved beyond measure. Our Christian faith is an important aspect of our lives and depicts the people we strive to be... compassionate, caring, kind, and patient. We are committed to providing them with a stable and happy home filled with laughter, love, and endless adventure. There will be many scraped knees, arguments over eating broccoli, and sleepless nights waiting for them to arrive home at curfew. We can’t wait for every moment. We hope to get to know you and welcome an open relationship with you, as you are a huge part of who this child is, and we will honor your story with them. We love sharing milestones with Otto’s birth mother through pictures, text messages, and phone calls. We are excited to grow a bond with you and have a similar relationship. We are here for you every step of the way, and we would be honored to go on this journey with you. Thank you for considering us as potential parents for your baby. We send you all our love, prayers, and support during this time of decision-making. Sincerely, Josh & Michelle
By Brittany Carvalho December 5, 2024
Hello & Thank You , Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share a glimpse into our lives. First and foremost, we want to express our deepest gratitude, as being considered in your adoption journey means more to us than you may know. The love you have for your child is undeniable. Though we cannot know the challenges you are facing in making this decision, your love, strength, and courage stand out the most. We truly admire you. We are Luke and Cassi and our four-legged fur baby, Sully. We’ve been together for 16 years and married for 3. After years of infertility, adoption feels like the right path for us. From a young age, we always knew adoption would be part of our journey, and now, after much anticipation, we’re filled with excitement and hope. We truly believe the younger versions of us would be proud of the direction life has taken, and we are eager to open our hearts and home to a child. Adoption is a lifelong bond, and we promise to cherish it. We are committed to creating a safe, loving, and nurturing home where your child can grow, explore, and thrive. We will inspire curiosity, embrace individuality, and encourage them to follow their dreams. We will also surround your child with the people who will love them through life’s challenges and triumphs. Our home will be filled with love, laughter, and family traditions, including cozy nights by the fire, bedtime stories, adventures in our camper, and Sundays by the pool. They would always be encouraged to be their true selves, follow their passions, respect themselves and others, and always know they are valued. We will teach them kindness, empathy, and the importance of family. Most importantly, we will always talk openly and lovingly about the love and sacrifice that led you to choose adoption. We want your child to know how deeply they are loved, both by us and by you. Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us. If we have the opportunity to meet in the future, we would be excited to learn more about you. We know this is not an easy decision, and we are grateful for your consideration. We are keeping you in our thoughts and sending you strength and peace during this time. Sincerely, Luke & Cassi
By Brittany Carvalho December 3, 2024
Hello & Thank You , Thank you for taking the time to view our profile. We cannot imagine the difficulty of the decision you are making for yourself and your child. We would be honored if you consider us as a potential family for your child. We promise to love them wholeheartedly and raise them knowing your incredible strength and deep love for them. We are Carl and Brianna. We have been together for 16 years and married for 11 years. We have an nine-year-old daughter who is the love of our life. After giving birth to her, Brianna suffered from postpartum depression, which was debilitating for us both. It was an incredibly difficult time for our family, but we made it through. We have always wanted a big family, and we are hoping adoption will grant us that wish. Our daughter is EXTREMELY excited to be a big sister and constantly asks when her baby sister or brother will be here. She can’t wait to cuddle and read to them. We are fortunate to have flexible careers that allow us to be there for our children’s milestones and activities. Carl works as a doctor at a local urgent care. Although Carl’s career is very important, he has chosen a work environment that provides a flexible schedule and ample home time. Brianna works as a teaching assistant, so our children’s education is very important. This also allows her to be done with work by 2pm daily and has summers off. We will give our children every opportunity and allow them to explore their talents and passions. If we are chosen to be the adoptive family for your child, we want you to know how incredibly important their background, culture, and story are to us. We will work hard to ensure that it is an integral part of their life and ours. We are excited to get to know you, and we would be honored to form a relationship with you in whatever way you are most comfortable. Thank you for taking the time to review our profile and considering us as adoptive parents. We are very excited to grow our family, and CANNOT wait to welcome a new member. Sincerely, Carl & Brianna
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