Design For Life: Should I tell my children about their parentage?

This week, clinical psychologist Dr Malie Coyne advises a reader with one biological child and one adopted child who is unsure whether to tell them about it just yet

‘In an ideal scenario, parents tell adopted children from a very early age, so that the circumstances of their birth and their biological families are normalised and openly discussed as they grow older.’ Picture: Getty

Dear Expert,

My husband and I have two children, a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl. Our son is adopted. We did this at a time when I had been told that it would be nearly impossible for me to conceive, so you can imagine my surprise when I became pregnant with our daughter!

But we are unsure of how or if to tell the children that they have different biological parentage. As far as ...