Letters from birth parents

[Pollylong]

Hi, my LO is 4, we get two letters a year from bp. We read them to her when they come, and involve her is writing letters to them. I want her to have more access to the letters, have them around to have them read to her if she wants too, start to read them herself as she learns to read.

I don’t want to give her the originals, her favourite thing to do is cut every piece of paper into strips with her arts and craft scissors.

I was thinking of photocopying them, but does anyone have any ideas how to collate them in a way she cant do too much damage so I’m not constantly re-photocopying them, keeping them together and being able to add too them when each new letter comes in?

x

Could you laminate the photocopy and put in a folder/file where you can add to it as you go?

I print out the letters I send and store letters in date order in display files. The files are nicely decorated and include a photo of the person the letters inside are to/from as we write to multiple relatives.

I also scan all the letters we receive and email them to myself as attachments along with any photos we received with the letter. I am slightly paranoid in case the originals and the copies on the kids' files with the adoption agency get lost!

Neither child has direct access to their letters, they are kept in my wardrobe and brought out as we talk about birth family. We made this decision so that when our children have friends over they cannot read the letters. We have to be very careful about what information the children have easy access to because we know of cases where friends as young as 7 have decided to 'help' adopted children find their 'real' families on social media.

As a biological parent a dad I would like to thank my children adoptive parents looking after my children as

my own family don’t care about me and feeling mutual about them

I had my kids taken away 3 years ago I’m coping and I hope I see them once they 18 .