Thursday, October 9, 2008

A MOTHER FOR CHOCO

Many people have asked me if we have told Livija about our adoption plans. I feel she is too young (almost 3 years old) to really understand. So we decided to wait until we have been matched, and we can show Livija a picture so she can have something tangible that represents her baby brother or baby sister. In the meantime, I ask her if she would want a baby brother or sister one day (sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no). We tell her that families are formed in all different ways. Yes, there are the "traditional" famlies, but there are also the "nontraditional" families. I want her to grow up understanding that some families have two parents, some have one, some even have two mommies or two daddies. Some have step parents, or adoptive parents. Some babies are born to us and some babies come to us through fate.

Livija and I went to the library today and found a beautiful book called A Mother for Choco. It reminds me of the children's book, Are You My Mother? But with a twist. Choco is a baby bird looking for a mother. In the end he is surprised to find that the family he finds doesn't look like him at all. His mother is a bear, and his new siblings are an alligator, a hippo and a pig. Choco quickly learns, that families are made up of love, it doesn't matter if you all look differently.

I think it's the perfect way to introduce the idea of adoption to a 3 year old.

4 comments:

Becky said...

Livija is a lucky little girl. It's the perfect way to explain adoption.

Anonymous said...

my little Livija will love, no matter who, or where her baby brother or sister comes from! :)
gramma

E said...

A friend of mine who adopted from China told me about this book and how much they both loved it. It sounds very sweet!

Unknown said...

absolutely perfect way to introduce the concept......