We expect that all of our adopters will commit to keeping connections with the birth family of their child and understand why this is important for their child. This can look different for each child, but can include:
- Letterbox contact (indirect contact)
- Keeping in contact with siblings who may be in other adoptive placements (direct contact)
- Attending an initial birth parent meeting (adopters and birth parents)
- Direct contact with the birth family
Why do we ask adopters to keep connections between their child and the birth family?
Our children grow up knowing that they are adopted and will know age-appropriate information about why they came to be adopted. This will be through conversations with their adoptive family and the use of their life story book and later life letter.
Naturally, our children will have questions about their birth family, and keeping these connections can help provide answers to these questions, and help them understand why they were adopted.
Our adopted children will always have a dual-identity - their birth identity and their adopted identity. It is important that we support our children in understanding their identity and what this means for them, as children and in the future as an adult.
Keeping connections is about putting the child’s needs first. You can find out more information about how our adoption support team support keeping connections through their letterbox team.
You may find the below links helpful to gain further understanding about why it’s so important for our children to keep connections: