top of page
Walk Together
Walk Together focuses entirely on adoption in the UK, supporting mothers, fathers, children, and anyone connected to the adoption journey. We understand that adoption can be emotional, complex, rewarding, and challenging all at once, and our aim is to create a space where every part of that experience is acknowledged.
We publish weekly blogs covering everything and anything to do with adoption: family life, identity, attachment, school, trauma, birth family contact, and the realities of parenting before, during, and after adoption. If there’s a topic you’d love us to explore or an area where you feel more guidance is needed, please get in touch. We’d be very happy to add your ideas to our content plan.
When you didn't fall in love at first sight, the bonding stories adoptive parents rarely admit to
There is a quiet thing many adopters know but rarely say out loud. The moment they had imagined, the first time they met their child or first held them at home, did not feel the way the books and films had suggested it would. It did not feel like falling in love. It felt awkward, or unreal, or like meeting someone for the first time and trying very hard to act normal.
2 days ago5 min read
Sleep and adopted children, why rest can be disrupted for years
Most adopters know the bedtime struggle. The bath, the books, the calm, then a child who wakes hours later, or cannot fall asleep at all, or sleeps in fits and starts in your bed long past the age you imagined. Standard parenting advice rarely matches the reality. Sleep in adopted children is its own thing.
Sep 45 min read
Routines that hold, helping adopted children through the school holidays
For most families, the summer holidays are a chance to slow down. For adopted families, the same six weeks often look very different. The structure that has been holding your child quietly all term, the morning routine, the school day, the predictable adult expectations, falls away all at once. Many adopters describe their child as visibly more dysregulated in the holidays than in term time.
Aug 285 min read
Food, control and early deprivation: understanding your child's relationship with eating
If your adopted child has a difficult relationship with food, you already know what this looks like. It might be hoarding - food hidden in pockets, under pillows, in the back of drawers. It might be compulsive eating - consuming everything available as fast as possible, regardless of hunger, as though the food might disappear. It might be refusal - a flat, anxious rejection of meals, particularly unfamiliar ones.
Aug 1410 min read
The hidden hangover of contact days, and how to help your child afterwards
Most adopters know the contact day itself can be hard. What is less often talked about is the 48 to 72 hours afterwards, when the regulation that held during the meeting starts to come undone. This is the contact day hangover, and it is one of the most consistently underestimated parts of adoptive parenting.
Aug 75 min read
Why adopted children can want birth family contact and fear it at the same time
Many adopters describe the same scene. Their child asks something curious about their birth family, then within hours becomes anxious, irritable, or completely silent when contact is mentioned. The wanting and the fearing seem to switch on at the same time. They do.
Jul 245 min read
When siblings don’t bond: navigating the reality of adoption and sibling relationships
Sibling relationships are complicated. This is true in every kind of family - birth, adoptive, foster, blended - and it always has been. The idea that brothers and sisters naturally grow close, become each other’s confidants, and form an unshakeable bond across a lifetime is a romantic one, and reality is frequently messier.
Jul 1011 min read
What no one tells you about adopting a second time
The practical advice for second-time adopters is, in many ways, the same as for first-time adopters, but with greater urgency: accept help, ask for support, do not try to manage alone. The specific things that second-time adopters find most helpful include: having a clear and honest conversation with your social worker about the support you need during and after the placement, including respite if necessary.
Jun 269 min read
Hypervigilance in adoptive parents, when your nervous system won't switch off
It is 2am. Your child has been asleep for hours. You have heard a sound that is probably nothing. Your body is already alert, already scanning, already half-out of bed. This is hypervigilance. For many adoptive parents, it is one of the most exhausting and least talked about features of the work.
Jun 196 min read
Moving house, changing schools, and other transitions that hit harder than expected
The overarching principle for managing transitions with adopted children is this: slow down, over-communicate, maintain connection, and expect it to take longer than you think. Almost everything that helps can be organised under those four headings.
May 2910 min read
For the dads: the adoptive father's experience nobody talks about
The adoption system, in its current form, was built with a particular family shape in mind. It has evolved considerably, and continues to do so, but many of its assessment tools, preparation materials, and support frameworks still carry implicit assumptions about gender roles in parenting
May 19 min read
Friendships and adoption: Why peer relationships can be complicated
Friendships are not just social connections. Developmentally, they represent emotional proximity, belonging, and mutual dependence. For adopted children, these themes can closely mirror early attachment experiences, even when the child is not consciously aware of the connection.
Feb 277 min read
Online safety and adopted children: What parents need to know
Adoptive parenting is already rooted in openness and communication - those same skills are the foundation of digital safety. Your willingness to stay connected, even when the topic feels uncomfortable, is what will ultimately keep your child safest online.
Oct 31, 20257 min read
Why adopted children may be more vulnerable to exploitation - and how we reduce the risks
We use “exploitation” broadly to include criminal exploitation (for example county lines), sexual exploitation, online grooming, financial coercion, labour exploitation, and manipulation linked to substances or radicalisation. We draw on UK and international research and translate it into practical steps for parents and carers, schools, and support networks.
Oct 24, 202511 min read
Pets and adoption: The surprising role animals can play in a child’s healing
Research has shown that the human-animal bond goes far beyond affection. Animals can support attachment, regulate stress responses, and even influence the chemistry of the human body.
Oct 10, 20259 min read
How adoptive parents can talk about difficult or unknown parts of their child’s story
This article offers adoptive parent advice grounded in developmental psychology, attachment theory, and trauma-informed research. Rather than broad suggestions, you will find concrete, emotionally safe strategies to use when creating or revisiting a life book with your child. These approaches help children process emotions, ask questions, and hold uncertainty, while strengthening their relationship with you as their adoptive parent.
Sep 12, 20256 min read
Adoption in books and stories: The power of written representation
In this blog, we explore how adoption is portrayed across books and stories, both where it falls short and where it shines. We look at common themes and tropes, reflect on how these can affect children’s self-image, and share a recommended reading list to help families find books that affirm adopted children’s experiences.
Aug 29, 20256 min read
Why sensory regulation matters: Helping adopted children thrive through body-based practices
Sensory regulation is the ability to process and respond to sensory information. It plays a critical role in how children feel, behave, and connect. For adopted children, especially those who have experienced early adversity, this regulation process is often disrupted. Understanding why can help you meet their needs with more clarity and compassion.
Aug 15, 20257 min read
What regulation really means for adopted children: A neuroscience -informed guide for parents
egulation, or the ability to manage our emotions and body states, is not just a behavioural skill. It is deeply biological, shaped by the brain, nervous system, and critically our earliest relationships. For adopted children, especially those who have experienced early adversity, regulation can look and feel different. This blog explores why.
Aug 8, 20255 min read
The neuroscience of regulation in adopted children
In the last decade, neuroscience has begun to catch up with what adoptive families have been living for years. We now have clearer, more precise insight into how early adversity impacts the developing brain, not just structurally, but in the way children experience emotion, stress, and safety. And just as importantly, we now understand more about what helps.
Aug 1, 20257 min read
bottom of page