Transracial Families in the Western Suburbs . . .

Hi A.. You are right to be considering race an issue at this time. People like to think race isn't an issue but it can be as children get older. Our daughter is 6 and is Indian while we are lily white. My husband and I were shocked when she said kids at school were making her feel bad because of her skin color.
I strongly suggest you get on the CAFFA web site and look for the playgroup in Naperville. CAFFA is Chicago Area Families for Adoption. There is also a family gathering coming up on August 8 (I think). It really helps to connect with famiies that are similar and are going through the same issues.
You may also want to consider a church where there are interracial families. The big one in Naperville on 59 has a diverse group. Our friends who are caucasin and have AA kids go there.
Also, I'm going to shoot you an email offline as well. Good luck to you---a biracial and adoptive family has added stresses that simply cannot be understood unless you are in the same boat.

skin color doesn't matter so ignore that as a part of your children. Just let them be friends with the people you live near or who go to their preschool/daycare. If you treat them different and point out the skin color it becomes an issue.

A.:

Congratulations on your new additions to your family!

We are a mixed family (our 5 year old biological son is Latino/Anglo and our 2 year old adopted daughter is Latina) living in the near western suburbs so I can relate to your question. As another poster mentioned, I would definitely join CAFFA. We have and the events are great and my children are exposed to families formed in different ways which I think is great support for now and in the future when questions come from friends, classmates, etc.

To take it a step further, I would try to find doctors, hairdressers and other service providers who share the heritage of your children. If your family is of a particular religious faith, finding a religious institution with a primarily African American or culturally diverse congregation could be a very positive experience the whole family. I know you mention that Lemont is not very diverse but perhaps in Bollingbrook, which I believe is nearby and more diverse, you could find more of what you are looking for.

I also would check out Bridge Communications (bridgecommunications.org) which is located in Chicago and specifially gives support through trainings and other resources to multi-racial families whether formed through birth or adoption.

Best of luck!

L.

We live in a somewhat diverse neighborhood, but most of the neighbors are white, but we do have a mix.

The children on the block ranging from 2.5 - 12 don't see color an issue at all. They all play with eachother. Now, at daycare, thier kids have a black friend who comes over and he's just like part of the family. From time to time, he'll walk in their house and say "oh, your black friend is here" (never when we were there tho). Several weeks past and when we went to go and pick them up, out of the blue my 2.5 year old old said "Ms. Karen, the black boy is here". I was shocked that she noticed the skin color, but Karen assured me it's because that kid brought it on himself.

So, I think your kids would be fine, as long as you don't make race an issue. Are you friends with your neighbors?

I seriously wouldn't go out of your way to find an AA group, kids are different. When we were kids, we were told to say away from them, but it's totally different. I'd say my 2.5 year old's best friend is an Indian boy who is also 2.5 years old.

Oh, and my 4.5 year old thinks every black guy on TV is "Rock Obama" :)

They will be fine. Oh, and you can join mom's groups via yahoo. Just pick your neighborhood and if you feel they are to clicky, then leave that group and find another one, but try not to base it on race.

Good luck.