Adoptive parent

From Adoption Information

An adoptive parent is one who has been given parental rights through the legal process of adoption. Adoptive parents are no different – no less real, no less entitled, no less emotional involved and committed – than those who become parents by birth, but their role as parents may be more complex than many other parents due to the fact that their (adopted) child may bring new elements into the family, such as race, culture, or special needs.

Adoptive parents are often confronted by intrusive questions and thoughtless comments from people who are not knowledgeable about adoption, and many adoptive parents often say they are as much teachers of the uninformed as they are parents.