When parents adopt a new child into their family, the children they already have will inevitably ask questions-and, if the adopted child is of a different race or from a different country, creed, or culture, the questions will be big ones, and they may prove tough to answer.

But answering these questions is crucial, not just for the sake of the child, or children, who ask them, but also for their adopted sibling, the family as a whole, and the larger communities they are a part of.

If you, or someone you know, are faced with these big questions from your kids, let My...