National Adoption Awareness Month

"It has been said that adoption is more like a marriage than a birth: two (or more) individuals, each with their own unique mix of needs, patterns and genetic history, coming together with love, hope and commitment for a joint future. You become a family not because you share the same genes, but because you share a love for each other." ~Joan McNamara


Since November is National Adoption Awareness month I thought I would post something I read about defining some commonly misused adoption terms (in a humorous manner) :

Four Adoption Terms Defined:

Natural Child: any child who is not artificial
Real Parent: any parent who is not imaginary
Your Own Child: any child who is not someone else's child
Adopted Child: a natural child, with a real parent who is all my own!

On a serious note, respectful adoption language is important. People who are not educated on this subject can seem hurtful to parents and children. It is really the responsibility of us, as parents to help educate others in this area. I am the first to admit that in the check out line at the grocery store, I am usually not in the mood and will just ignore the comments. However, Annslee is now getting old enough that I need to start learning how to appropriately deal with these situations.

Here are some links I found useful:

Using Respectful Adoption Language

Adoption is a Family Affair

Adoptive Families Magazine