Tag Archives: talking about adoption

She Thought WHAT was ADOPTION?!??

On St. Patrick’s Day, we watched a family film about Patrick’s early life and his years in Ireland, as a slave and then a missionary. After the scene where Patrick is captured from his family’s town in Britain and taken to Ireland, seven-year-old Regina ran to my husband and asked if Patrick was being adopted! I was, of course, horrified. Unable to hear the rest of their brief conversation, I asked my husband later. He’s great with kids but can be a little frustrating when describing detail, so I’m not sure exactly what they said. Later he calmly told me, … Continue reading →

“Being Adopted Means Being Born in Another State”….??

It’s hard to tell what kids know, remember, or are in denial about. My almost-eight-year-old is very intelligent. She has pictures of her foster mother and a whole scrapbook about her adoption, which she presented to her preschool class. She seemed happy to have me read books explaining adoption to her first grade class last year. Recently a new friend, who wasn’t at the school last year when I did the presentation, asked me (in front of Meg), “Is Meg adopted?” I tried to deflect the question to Meg, trying to avoid a repeat of the “Can she speak English” … Continue reading →

Respecting Your Child’s Privacy

Last week I was at a meeting of a group of parents who’ve adopted from Korea. The discussion turned to privacy issues. Many adoptive parents are so excited about our children. We love to share their stories. We are eager to correct stereotypes about adoption. (When you’ve seen babies three to a cradle in a baby home, you feel like buttonholing people on the street and asking them if they’ve ever thought of adopting!) People ask us about adoption. We are eager to give them information, to reassure them, but also to be honest so that an adopting couple will … Continue reading →