Belonging. It’s a basic human need. We all crave it, and many kids find it among their peers as they visit their birth country. Remember Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs theory? If you’re a little rusty on that, here are the Cliff Notes. Maslow held that people must have basic needs like food, water, safety, BELONGING and self esteem met … Read More
Birth Country Travel: Language & Identity
Birth Country Travel: Language & Identity This is part 3 in a series on international adoption and identity. For most kids on a homeland journey, language and the ability to communicate is an immediate piece of how they see themselves. Very few are able to speak in their birth language. As a result, their first interaction with people in their … Read More
Identity: Do Adoptees Need to Know The Past?
About This Article Series This is the first in a series of articles on identity building and international adoption. Over the past 20 years, we have learned a LOT about what is important to adoptees as they take the giant step of visiting their birth country. We hope you enjoy the series from Adoptive Family Travel by The Ties Program … Read More
Parenting International Adoptees: The Restricted Information
If you are the parenting an internationally born child, teen, young adult or adult, chances are you would give your right arm (maybe even your Starbuck’s latte) to know what they are REALLY thinking and feeling. It’s what my daughter calls “restricted information.” “Why is it restricted?” I ask, holding on to her every word, listening for clues for what … Read More