Search Results for: blog china adoption today

International vs Domestic Adoption

We have friends that are in China adopting a beautiful baby girl right now. The journey for them to adopt a baby from China started over five years ago. They knew since they got married that they wanted to adopt a baby girl from China they just did not realize how long the process would take. When you do an international adoption there are rules and guidelines that the country of origin requires for international adoption. It does not happen as fast as you see when some famous celebrity goes to a country and comes right home with a baby. … Continue reading →

China Adoption Today

Posted on by

For several years, Americans have adopted more children from China than from any other country. Agencies recommend China to their clients as having a stable and predictable adoption process. Well, the good news is, it’s still stable and predictable. The bad news is, the time families wait for a referral is now measured in years instead of months. In December 2006, I wrote about China’s imposition of new requirements for adoptive parents. Most notably, these stipulated that singles were no longer eligible to adopt (China had been a popular option with single mothers until that time), and neither were people … Continue reading →

Book Review: Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles

Sometimes a book comes along that manages to write about a single experience, but one that is so ubiquitous that we think, “Why didn’t anyone write a book like this before?” Star of the Week: a Story of Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles is based on the authors’ own daughter. She has some unique circumstances not shared by her classmates, but the setting is one almost all kids in early school-age can relate to. I n preschool, kindergarten and early elementary school, a frequent occurrence is for each student to be assigned a week to be the “Star”. They … Continue reading →

Book Review: Adoption–Social Issues Firsthand Series

Posted on by

The series Social Issues Firsthand is published by Greenhaven Press, the publishers of the Opposing Viewpoints series (see my review of Opposing Viewpoints: Adoption). The Social Issues series does not consist of direct arguments by those with different beliefs, but does endeavor to have contributions from people with diverse experiences. The volume Adoption, from the Social Issues Firsthand series, contains sixteen articles, approximately 600 words each, divided roughly into sections. The first section is “Giving Up a Child for Adoption”. Many people today would object to the phraseology used here. Positive Adoption Language prefers “made an adoption plan” to emphasize … Continue reading →

Book Review: A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China

Posted on by

The uniqueness of A Euro-American on a Korean Tour at a Thai Restaurant in China is that adoptive parent Chris Winston has not only encouraged her children to feel pride in their Korean heritage, but has made connections with Koreans and Korean-Americans on a scale most adoptive parents have only dimly imagined. Winston helped to begin both Friends of Korea, a regional group (in Sacramento) for adoptive families that welcomes anyone interested in Korea, and the Korean American Adoptee/Adoptive Family Network (KAAN), a national networking organization linking groups and individuals concerned with adoption from Korea. Winston and her husband had … Continue reading →

What Will Really Happen to Adoption in China, Post-Quake?

Posted on by

The Chinese government says it is drafting plans for adoptions of quake orphans, and phones at local Civil Affairs Bureaus are ringing off the hook. One Western newspaper even estimated that there are more Chinese calling about adopting than there are orphans. It remains to be seen what will happen. Do Chinese parents calling about adoption today still see it as offering to foster children, or do they truly understand adoption as making a child a permanent part of your family tree? Perhaps they do. Perhaps the restrictions on bearing children have left more people wanting to love more children … Continue reading →

Review of Artful Adoption Books: Three Names of Me

Yesterday I wrote about a children’s adoption book with beautiful artwork. Today I present another one. Three Names of Me is written by Mary Cummings in the voice of her Chinese-born daughter Ada. I would judge the writing to be for ages 6-12. The illustrations are done by Chinese-American illustrator Lin Wang, who combined watercolor and colored pencil to create a style she calls “ethereal realism”. Like the illustrations in Over Land and Sea, they appear realistic and detailed, yet at the same time soft. The use of light and blended backgrounds in Three Names of Me does produce a … Continue reading →

Ten Things I’m Thankful For about Adoption Today

1. Those birthmothers who choose life in the face of pressure to do otherwise. In many cases this is a brave, brave action. If my daughter ever asks if her birthmother loved her, I can answer in the affirmative—because otherwise she wouldn’t be here. 2. The birth family members who provide honest medical and social history for their children. This helps us give them better medical and developmental care, reassures them that they have a history like everyone else, and frees the mind from wondering too much about their past and lets it go on to other things. 3. The … Continue reading →

Pioneers in International Adoption

My last blog honored a few “saints” in U.S. adoption. This blog will focus on a few heroes in international adoption. Pearl Buck, an American who lived in China with her missionary parents and then her agricultural scientist husband, is known for her book The Good Earth. She had one child, then adopted seven. She also was shocked to discover in 1949 that existing agencies considered Asian and multiracial children unadoptable. She founded Welcome House adoption agency to serve these children. The first international and interracial adoption agency, Welcome House still exists today, now working with children from several countries, … Continue reading →

Adoption Books for Children: Focus on Korea and Vietnam

Posted on by

This blog will be the first in a series. I’ll share some adoption books which tell the stories of children from different parts of the world. Of course, many of the stories will be interesting to children adopted from other countries than the ones depicted, or to non-adopted children who are likely to meet adopted friends or classmates at some point in their lives. Next I’ll do a series of books for adults on adoption from different regions. In An American Face, a boy looks forward to receiving his American citizenship, but thinks he will be getting a new “American” … Continue reading →