In my last few posts I have been answering transracial adoption questions posted by readers (I am jumping around a little so I it seems that I have "skipped" your question, I promise I will get to all of them. Also, still feel free to go leave a question too.)

This question is not an easy one:

What do you think is the biggest difference between adult adoptees who resent their transracial placement and those who embrace it? As parents, what is the best way to ensure the latter?

First off, since I am not an adoptee, I cannot truly offer advice on this topic... more

In this post I asked readers to leave a comment with questions related to transracial adoption that they would like to see answered in future blog posts (please feel free to still go to that post and leave a question if you have one). I have already answered questions related to transracial adoption labels, hair... more

Another one of the questions that was left on my blog last week was this one:

Any (very kind) witty remarks to keep up my sleeve for the busy bodies at the grocery store?

Becoming a transracial family is becoming a "highly visible" family. While in some areas and in some places and situations your family may blend in to some degree, chances are that no matter where you live, as a transracial adoptive family, your family is going to get some extra attention when you are out and about.

A lot of the attention my family gets is positive. A lot of people stop to tell us that our kids are beautiful or something like that. However we also get our... more

Hair care of black children is a frequently visited topic on transracial adoption email groups, forums and blogs. In the grand scheme of transracial adoption issues it may seem like a minor one to some, however hair is a very big deal in the African American community. When transracial adoptive parents take the initiative to learn how to properly care for and style their child's hair, they are showing respect to and pride in their child's heritage and culture and are helping their child develop a healthy racial self esteem.

I have spoken... more

In my last post I asked you, my readers, what questions you would like to see written about here on the transracial adoption blog. I have already gotten a good little list, but would love to see it added to, so if you have a transracial adoption question, please go leave me a comment.

The first question I am going to answer is one that is a common concern of transracial adoptive parents.

My son will be from Rwanda...so would you call him Rwandan-American, African-American, or just American?

Racial labels are a tough issue for several reasons.... more

In the past on this blog, I have had some good posts come as a result of "Questions and Answers". What sort of things are you interested in as a transracial adoptive parent, or as a prospective transracial adoptive parent?

What issues are you concerned about handling? What worries you? What excites you? What advice do you want or need the very most? What would you like to read about? I thought that I would throw this out there, and if you will leave me a question or two in a comment, then... more

There seems to be a prevalent habit amongst the general public of labeling anyone who lives their life outside of the narrow-minded guidelines of "normal", as "crazy".

You have more than three kids? You must be crazy.

You are adopting internationally? You must be crazy.

You chose to have a transracial family? You must be crazy.

You are adopting more than once? You must be crazy.

You adopted three kids in one year? You are crazy.

You adopted a child with HIV? You really are crazy.

You have 10... more

This week I have been writing about adoption medicine and common health issues in internationally adopted children. Today I am going to conclude this mini-series with some thoughts on adoption and health.

While many parents worry about the health of the child they may adopt, especially when it is an international adoption, it is important to know that most children come home to their new parents with only minor ailments, such as the things I have... more

In my last few posts I have been writing about recommended health screenings for newly internationally adopted children, and about the "yucky side" of adopting a new child internationally. I have given some general information on some of the most common creepy crawlies that new adoptive parents often have to deal with. As I have written, lice, scabies and ringworm are all fairly commonly found in newly arrived international... more

In my last post I started writing about some of the "icky stuff" that often comes along with international adoption. Lice, scabies, ringworm and Giardia and conditions that are common in internationally adopted children and can cause big headaches in parents.

Having a basic knowledge of these conditions and their treatments can help adoptive parents be prepared for the creepy crawlies.

Ringworm - Ringworm, despite it's name,... more