Here is a selection of adoption-related stories from the world’s media over the past few months.
Adoption survey reveals concerns
The results of the survey carried about by AdoptionUK and the BBC received a lot of press attention. The survey itself was not particularly well designed or carried out with much academic rigour, but crude as it was, it revealed some very pressing concerns about adoption and gave adopters an opportunity to press for better post-adoption support.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41379424
Adoptive families in crisis
Recently there has been quite a lot of coverage of child to parent violence and of adoptive families in crisis. It seems there are many desperate, exhausted and fearful adoptive families out there.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-41332662
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b095rs05
Madonna speaks about adoption
The issue of celebrity adoption is an interesting one. I think of the time, effort and energy it takes me to bring up just two children who have suffered early childhood trauma, and wonder how people who must, given their career choices, be extremely busy, manage it. I realise they have lots of money and thus lots of help, but if you pay someone else to raise an adopted child, does that really make you that child’s parent? Of course, we have no way of knowing how much input celebrity adopters (or anyone else for that matter) have in the raising of their children, and it would be wrong to make assumptions.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/preview-madonna-on-building-childrens-hospital-in-malawi/
Madonna wins damages
Better be careful what I say, though. Madonna won’t put up with invasive reporting, and rightly so. Her children have the right to privacy.
https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/mail-online-pays-damages-revealing-details-madonnas-adoption/
Adoption exploitation
In situations where great inequality exists between the adopting family and the biological family, there is always the potential for dangerous exploitation.
Cross-cultural adoption from the adoptee’s persepective
Cross-cultural adoption will always divide opinion, largely because it is such a complex issue that there can never be one, simple position. I often think that adopting children with very different socio-economic backgrounds from one’s own can be a form of cross cultural adoption, too. How sensitive are we to this? If/when our children meet up with their biological family, will they have any common ground?
https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/adoption-when-nothing-is-black-and-white-11273134
https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/im-mixed-race-adopted-white-family-experience/
Asian family not allowed to adopt white child
And yet another perspective on this seemingly endlessly complicated issue.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/family/race-never-entered-minds-heartbroken-couple-told-cant-adopt/
An adoptee reflects on her status as an adopted person
We, as adoptive parents, often agonise about how open we should be about our children’s adoption when talking to other people. I have probably erred on the side of telling too many people that my children are adopted. I wonder if I make my children feel as if I am disowning them, when I tell people they are adopted? Do I do it because I am often ashamed of my children’s behaviour? Interestingly, studies show that families who strike a balance between telling all and sundry and making the adoption the central focus of their family lives, and keeping it completely private and insisting that their adopted children are no different from biological children, have the most successful outcomes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tia-bradley/adoption-questions_b_17916594.html
Israel to stop discrimination against same-sex adopters
It is interesting to note that while the law has allowed for same-sex adoptions for some time, it is going to require additional legislation to stop bias against same-sex adopters. Sadly, laws can’t change entrenched attitudes.
Adoptees wanting to be reunited with biological families
I do hope that the proper support is put in place for these people after they have been reunited. We have all heard stories when the “happy ever after” line that the press and TV shows such as Long Lost Family like to promote, do not come true. “You’re my worst mistake” – the horrific quote from the next article – is a good example.
http://www.itv.com/news/utv/2017-09-17/families-split-by-forced-adoption-in-reuniting-body-plea/
When biological parents are not what you were hoping for
This adoptee’s experience of trying to contact her biological mother could hardly have been worse.
Hall of shame
Yes, there are still journalists and newspapers who insist on calling biological parents “real parents”.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-given-up-adoption-birth-11122720
Adoption Mag Online 