Understanding childhood development in the context of donor conception – age 7+

Wednesday 19th April 2023 – 8pm (BST)

Dr Avital Pearlman has spent her career supporting children, families, individuals and couples throughout their fertility journey and beyond. In her work with children and adolescents, she has often worked with children who are donor conceived, adopted or are no longer in contact with a biological parent.

Throughout 2023, Avital will be joining me for a series of webinars as we consider the development of identity throughout the different stages of childhood, being mindful of all the factors that contribute to a sense of self and what we as parents can be aware of as we parent our donor conceived children.

Following on from our previous session focusing on the younger years, we explored how the conversation might change from age 7+ up to the teenage years. We touched on how age appropriate language might evolve, how we can keep an open dialogue going with children of this age when that storybooks might not be as prominent and how their understanding and questioning might begin to shift.

As we look to the future this session will allow us to think about how we might maintain a safe space for open conversations and what might be important for us as parents to be aware of as they become more aware of the concept of DNA and what that means for them.

 

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Speaker Bio

Dr Avital Pearlman

Avital has spent her career supporting children, families and individuals and couples throughout their fertility journey and beyond. Avital has worked across CAMHS, Paediatric and peri-natal settings. In her work with children and adolescents, Avital has often worked with children who are donor conceived, adopted or are no longer in contact with a biological parent. Within this context Avital considers the development of identity throughout the different stages of childhood and is mindful of all the factors that contribute to a sense of self.

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