6 Ways to Communicate in an Open Adoption in NYS
Communication has come a long way over the last century, aiding adoption in innumerable ways. It’s facilitated smooth and positive adoption communication, making open adoption feasible. In an open adoption in New York, when both parties choose to communicate freely with one another, you’re going to need a good way to do that. When you make a plan for how you will speak with the adoptive family in an open adoption, you’re likely to build a great relationship with them.
Communication in an open adoption is as limited or as free as you want it to be. Both parties, the birth mother and the adoptive family, will decide how much they’d like to talk and visit one another. Planning ahead of time what type of communication is most effective for you makes everything easier. Do you hate phone calls? Do you get your thoughts across best in an email? It’s up to you!
At Adoption Choices of New York, we’ll help you make decisions about the many ways to communicate in an open adoption.
Best Ways to Communicate in an Open Adoption
The email has been around for quite a while now, but that doesn’t make it any less effective as a means of communication. Email is a great choice if you want to share and receive photos — especially if you’re the type of person who likes to keep photos on a computer. Some people find writing an email to be easier than sending a text because you can put everything you want to say in one place. An email also might help keep your relationship and the tone of your message more formal, if that’s what you prefer.
- ZOOM
Nowadays, we’re all becoming a bit too familiar with ZOOM. It’s been essential during COVID-19 — for work meetings, holiday dinners with family, even fitness classes. But you might find it useful to use with your child’s adoptive family, even in a post-pandemic world. Face-to-face visits aren’t always convenient. ZOOM is a nice way to see and talk to one another, even when you can’t be in the same room.
- Face-to-Face Visits
In your open adoption, you might include face-to-face visits. These could be in a public place, like a park or a cafe, or you might visit one another’s homes. This is all up to you and the adoptive family. You also don’t have to visit all the time, and you don’t have to only communicate with visits. If you want to visit once a year, you can visit once a year. If you want to visit frequently, you can visit frequently. It’s all about what you and the adoptive family decide is best for you and your child.
- Letters
Letters are a bit old-fashioned these days, but most things that are old-fashioned are also incredibly charming. Letters can be a nice way to write as much or as little as you want, putting your own special touches on the page. You can take time to make a letter your own, and deliver it whenever the time is right. You might even get a bit sappy if that’s how you’re feeling. A letter lets you be as creative as you want to be.
- Texts and Calls
Texts and calls are a convenient way of communicating with one another. You might schedule these calls and texts, or you and the adoptive family might feel comfortable calling one another whenever you please. Out of all the ways to communicate in an open adoption, a cellphone is the most convenient. Text messages can be a great way to send photos, videos, and voice messages on the fly. This way, you can always stay updated on your child’s day-to-day life. If you’re after more casual communication, texts or calls might be a good tool to incorporate into your communication plan.
- Social Media
You and your adoptive family can find unique ways to use social media in your open adoption. Some adoptive and birth families might create a shared private Instagram or Facebook album to share and comment on photos. It’s easy to assume social media would overexpose your child to the public, but there are privacy settings you can use so that only you and the adoptive family can view your photos and comments.
How will You Communicate in Your Open Adoption?
We are social creatures — so there are a lot of ways to communicate in an open adoption! Especially in the technology-driven world we live in. If you’re interested in NYC open adoption, please don’t hesitate to communicate with us at Adoption Choices of New York. We will help you create an amazing adoption plan that works for you and your child. Reach out to us at any time, and we’ll get you started in creating your adoption plan.
Adoption Choices of New York is available to assist with your adoption plan. Call us, text us, email us; we are here for you!
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Meet the Author: Tara Giuffre has always loved reading and writing and grew up in the worlds of Narnia, Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Taking this passion for stories, she received a degree from Rutgers University in Journalism & Media. Besides writing, she likes long walks on the beach, spending time with her family (and her cat, Sansa), and baking the perfect loaf of bread.
She enjoys sharing vital information about adoption and birth mothers choosing adoption to families making important choices for their future family!