Just a member of the family

DVD / video | £47.00 inc. VAT
Available from BAAF

When a child joins a family through adoption, much of the focus is naturally on the adopted child, and how he or she copes with the experience of moving to a new family. But adoption also raises issues for any children already in that family. What do they think about their family adopting a child? How do they feel about the assessment process and the wait? How do they react to meeting a new brother or sister?

This is the first film about adoption from a child's point of view. It features a number of birth children who have had the experience of adopting a child into their family. They talk candidly and heart-warmingly about how they were prepared and prepared themselves for a child joining their family. This film is intended as a starting point for exploration and discussion with adoptive parents and their birth children.

Guidelines accompany the film which will trigger a number of questions and will enable prospective adopters as well as social workers to listen to children and find out how they feel. There are some suggested questions at the end of each section and anyone using the video/DVD will no doubt also come up with questions of their own.

The film is divided into six sections:

  • Thinking about adoption
  • Being prepared
  • First meetings
  • Sharing
  • What's good about adoption?
  • What would you say to other families?

Trainers who are running preparation groups for prospective adoptive parents will also find this film invaluable, and social workers can show the film to prospective adoptive parents and their children as part of their home study.

Text is courtesy of BAAF.