adoptive families
Non-biological parent households
Adoptive families are family units formed through legal adoption rather than biological reproduction.
The term encompasses any household where one or more children have been legally and permanently placed with parents who are not their birth parents.
People use the phrase to distinguish these families from biological ones, though many consider the distinction unnecessary in casual contexts: My adoptive family gave me opportunities I never would have had otherwise.
The singular adoptive family refers to one such household.
- home studyLearning outside the classroom
- waiting childMinor available for adoption
- attachment theoryStudy of emotional bonds
- belongingnessNeed for social inclusion
- bondingForming close connections
parenting classes · child welfare · foster care · resilience · heritage preservation · background checks · custody · trust-building · guardianship · emotional adjustment · reunification · self-esteem · societal stigma · relinquishment · cultural assimilation
- adoptionbirth parents, birth parent, birth mother, home study
- orphan careorphanages, orphans, foundlings, foster care, foster homes
adoptive familiesfoster families
Temporary child-rearing households
temporary placements · blended families · kinship care · institutional care · group homes
adoptive, families, adopt, family, adopted, adopting, adoption, adoptee, adopter