Adopted children face issues stemming from early and profound loss. The vulnerability that all children feel when they are separated from their parents is powerful. But for adopted children, they have not only experienced the fear of separation; their fear has manifested. A permanent separation has occurred in their lives. Adoptive parents must come to understand the perspective of a child who has experienced trauma and loss that is outside of our own life experience. Adoptive parents then must learn how to support our children in living with their losses while building rewarding lives.

Adoptive parents, like all parents, come to our roles as imperfect individuals who were raised in imperfect families. It can be challenging to internalize new ways of parenting rather than simply repeating patterns from our childhood that may not have served us well. While most all parents could use support and guidance in internalizing new, healthier ways of raising children, issues inherent in adoption can intensify the challenges and heighten the need for support.

Understanding that strong and varied emotions are normal and that parenting challenges are to be expected, African Cradle developed Embrace, a program dedicated to strengthening families after placement.