There was an excellent feature on ABC News on June 25th about how Facebook is impacting the world of adoptive and birth families. As I pointed out in my article in Adoptive Families magazine on the same topic, individuals now have access to each other without the support or preparation that can be so helpful in negotiating these new relationships. While openness is a wonderful opportunity for all members of the adoption triad to know each other and understand their shared path, relationships are never easy and often fraught with emotional landmines. Teenagers are particularly prone to jumping in rather than slowly building these relationships. Parents need to keep communication going about what their kids are feeling and wanting to do in relationship to their birth family.
Rita Taddonio, LCSW
Director, Spence-Chapin Adoption Resource Center
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