Cross Cultural Adoption: How To Answer Questions from Family, Friends & Community
"Where Is She From?" International adoption by American families has skyrocketed in the last decade, increasing by more than 300 percent since 1992. In the past three years alone, American families adopted nearly 60,000 children from other countries, and the rate of cross-border adoptions continues to grow. Domestic transracial adoptions also are on the rise. The family unit is becoming the new, scaled-down model for the "great American melting pot."  All of these cross-cultural families engender questions, particularly from small children: "Who are her real parents? Where is she from?" If adults aren't careful, the answers can have devastating effects; if they are careful, the answers can lay a solid foundation for a developing wisdom about love, families, and relationships.