Talking to Children about Adoption Seminar Reviews

What a comprehensive and helpful seminar! We adopted our daughter 9 years ago, and we were struggling with how to help her deal with her peers about her adoption. The ‘Talking to Children about Adoption’ seminar went through how children understand adoption at the various stages, and how to talk to them at each stage. Not only did we learn new ways to talk to our daughter about adoption, but we also learned how to help her talk, or not talk, about her adoption with others. We actually have used Sofie’s suggestions, and our daughter is now more empowered, as are we. We also found the piece on how to talk to the children of family and friends very helpful. Last year, when my friend’s daughter asked why my daughter’s “real” mother didn’t keep her, I was dumbfounded, not knowing what to answer. I now can confidently answer any question that a child (or an adult) throws at me. Well done Sofie! Thank you so much for offering this oh so needed seminar.

Katina Patini, Nurse

My friend and I attended Sofie’s workshop on “Talking to Children About Adoption”, and it was simply excellent!  As adoptive moms, we are committed to doing our best when communicating to others and to children about adoption, and this day offered such practical, concrete tips, through the presentation, audience participation, and guest speakers. I would recommend this seminar to ANYONE in the adoption constellation wishing to broaden their thinking in adoption conversation and communication. Great job Sofie!

Deborah Brennan - Adoptive mom & Author - “Labours of Love: Canadians Talk About Adoption”

Sofie, we would like to thank you for giving the seminar on “Talking to Children about Adoption”.  My husband and I are in the process of learning all we can about Adoption and I would have to say that your presentation was real and very easy to listen to. 

We walked away with so much to think about like:

1. Using positive adoption language,
2. How the realization of adoption, once it happens, is the child’s story to tell and not ours.
3. That the adopted child will share information with the people that they learn to trust when they are both comfortable and willing to.

At the seminar, there was a great representation of families who have adopted (both domestically and internationally) and of people who, like us, are in the process of adoption and still waiting for their dreams to come true.  Your slide show was great and including children from families that were present made it seem even more real.  You are positive and you inspire people to make adoption a positive experience for everyone involved including birth parents, family, friends, other siblings, and classmates. 

We would highly recommend participation in this seminar to adoptive and potential adoptive parents and families both because it is uplifting and because it provided us with many scenarios to think about how we will react to them.  Most of these scenarios are things that we had not previously considered but you have proven to us that thinking about these situations in advance will avoid placing the child in an uncomfortable or damaging situation. Thank you Sofie!

Chris & Lori Blair,  New Liskeard, Ont.

We recently attended the “Talking to Children” seminar and it was great. We adopted our beloved son from birth 4.5 years ago. Having an open adoption, we have always been forthcoming with our son about his adoption. Sofie’s seminar reinforced the importance of using ‘adoption positive’ language. It was helpful as well to hear from other families about their different experiences. We were struck by how similar our experiences were and it was reassuring to learn how others handled different situations. You always feel protective of your children and never want them to get hurt. Sofie’s seminar shed light on the issues that our son will face as he comes to understand his adoption. We feel more prepared now to help him navigate through his journey. We also really enjoyed the guest speakers.

Having both an adoptive mom of teenagers, and an adopted adult share their stories was especially informative. It’s always nice to connect with other adoptive families. We have lots in common even though every adoption is different. Sofie’s seminar brought together a great group of people and I would highly recommend it to other families who have already adopted or who are in the process of adopting. We’re a special group and it’s great to celebrate that! Thanks Sofie for offering this seminar!

Paula Sprentz, VP Compliance & George Aguiar, President & CEO

We have been to other seminars that Sofie has offered in the past and we have always left feeling that we learned so much (and got our money’s worth). Our children are the most important things in the world to us, and we wanted to learn everything possible to make it as easy for them as possible. Having a child through adoption, and then through birth, we wanted to learn as much as possible to help both of our children understand and talk about adoption. We now know so much, and we feel really comfortable to answer any questions, and to initiate discussions. We loved the adult adoptee’s speech, and we also learned so much from the adoptive parent speaker. The fact that Sofie is herself an adoptive parent really makes her discussions “real” and more personal. She is a fun and dynamic speaker, and we loved the fact that she personalized her powperpoint slides with pictures of children (our children were there too). Thanks for a great session Sofie.

Elaine and James Hsing

We thoroughly enjoyed the seminar and left feeling very well equipped to empower both of our daughters to speak to questions about adoption. We also picked up some great tips with respect to preparing teachers on the subject, preparing responses appropriate for all situations with our daughters, and educating others on the subject of adoption. Sofie has been a great resource for our family, and we will continue to participate in seminars as we continue our journey.  

Terry and David Manuel

Sofie knows how to talk to a large group and make you feel like she is speaking to you alone. Her seminar and book are a testament to her expertise, dedication and passion for the vast subject that is "adoption". The sensitivity and care that she gives to her audience is commendable. What a valuable gift she is providing by sharing her knowledge. Thank you so much Sofie.

Carla Salter, Teacher

I attended the Talking to Children about Adoption seminar as a single parent of a 4-year old boy. My son is aware that he is adopted, but doesn’t yet fully understand that this is different from most of his friends. He is getting to an age where he is asking more and more questions and Sofie’s practical suggestions on how to handle these questions have been put into practice almost from the moment I arrived home. Only a few weeks after attending the seminar, my son had two little girls over for a visit who are a little older at 6 and 7 years old. To my surprise one of them turned to my son and outright asked where his “real” mother was. My son was confused and I let them know that I was my son’s “real” mother and what they were probably wondering was where was my son’s “birth mother”. After a discussion for a few minutes, the conversation ended on a positive note and a few of my son’s friends now use positive adoption language. I highly recommend Sofie’s seminar for anyone confused about how to talk to your child about adoption, and how to prepare him or her on who he wishes to share with, and what to share.

Annette Silva, CA