Adopting a child from a foreign country (international adoption) will make your family Multi-Cultural and your family may become Inter-Racial. The vast majority of children adopted transracially and transculturally successfully integrate their personal, ethnic, and cultural identity.
A child's ethnic identity is his/her self-perception and sense of belonging to a particular group of persons with a common affiliation (e.g. Africian, Chinese). A child's cultural identity is determined by the society to which the person belongs and is socially transmitted from one’s family and community (e.g. Chinese-American). A child's identity development is a dynamic, life-long process, which requires active decision making and self exploration. It is the integration of one’s self-definition, one’s definition by others, one’s ethnic identity, and one’s cultural identity.
A child adopted internationally must integrate …
- Their native ethnic and cultural heritage
- Their birth family's and adoptive family’s ethnic and cultural reality
- Their physical appearance
- The perceptions of them by others
- Their personal and society values and beliefs
Parents can help ensure that their child(ren) develops a positive cultural and racial identity by:
Four Major Factors that Foster Postive Identity Development
- Family engagement with the child’s native culture and ethnic heritage - Encourage and co-participate in activities of your child’s native culture (e.g. language learning, foods, holiday celebrations, traditions, culture camps, adoption support networks, etc)
- Balancing of the multiple cultures represented in the family and community - Incorporate your child’s cultural heritage, the family’s cultural heritage, and the society’s culture into life so the child will feel apart of each. Parents who either deny differences or insistent on differences can make it difficult for the child to synthesize their dual identities.
- Recognition of extra-family forces - no child or family lives in isolation. Transracially adopted children will experience both racism and tolerance, discrimination and equality, exclusion and acceptance, and difference and sameness. Children who’s parents provide them with strategies to cope with racism, discrimination, exclusion and difference are better able to develop a positive sense of self.
- Involvement with ethnic and cultural reference groups and role models - Children need to be expose to, interact with, and develop relationships with role models from their native ethnic group.
Family Connections, Inc., is an authorized New York State adoption agency that supports families who adopt internationally and are parenting children of diverse cultures. To learn more about the agency's services, please contact Renee or Anita at 607-756-6574 or 1-800-535-5556 or info@adoptfamilyconnections.
To learn more about international adoption, please click below for a Free Guide to International Adoption.
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