"Yes, They Are a Family!"

They don’t match. His parents are white and he’s brown.

We won’t talk about ___’s family, but there are many reasons that children might have a skin color different from their families. Some children are adopted by people of a different race. Some children have parents of different races. We all have different kinds of hair, skin colors, different heights, shapes and sizes… even in the same family. People don’t have to match to be a family. Love makes a family!

Why don’t they live with their parents anymore?

We won’t talk about ___’s family because that may be private to them, but children live with people other than their parents for many reasons. There are other caring adults—foster parents or extended family—who help to take care of children. A family is made of people who love and care for each other.

Why does she live with her grandma?

Children live with their grandparents for many reasons. We won’t talk about ___’s family unless she decides to share about her family. Sometimes parents are in the military and are sent away to serve, or they have to travel for other jobs. Some parents have health problems and are unable to take care of their children. In many families, grandparents, parents and children all live together in one house and are a family.

Why can’t his mom speak English?

In his family, people speak more than one language. English is just one of many languages spoken in our school community. He is very lucky to get to know two different languages. Have you ever thought of learning to speak another language?

How can a family have two moms (dads)? Which one is the real one?

They both are. Both moms/dads take care of the children and love them. There are all kinds of families, and we respect them all. Some families have two moms or two dads, some have one mom or one dad and some have a mom and a dad or other people who love and take care of them. Every family is unique and important.

Don’t you need a woman and a man to have a baby?

There are many different ways that children come into families as people form families in many different ways. The important thing is to show respect for every person's family.

Emily says she is adopted. What does that mean?

Adoption is when a family who can’t take care of a child makes a plan to find a family who can take care of that child and love them forever. Adoption is just one of the many ways children come into a family.