May in Review, Part Three

by Pam Connell | More from this Blogger

01 Jun 2008 08:54 PM

I shared the news that thousands of Chinese are offering to adopt children orphaned by the quake in Earthquake May Prove to Be a Milestone for Adoption in China. However, some orphans of a previous quake reported feeling as though they were tolerated as foster children rather than fully part of their adoptive families or relatives' families, and some social service personnel feel that the children could support each other better in a boarding school where they would live with other earthquake survivors. This controversy is discussed in Is Adoption the Best Solution for Earthquake Survivors? -The Disagreement.

In What Will Really Happen to Adoption in China Post-Quake? I reflect on how people in China today understand adoption, on the problems that traumatized children may face in adjusting to a new family and on whether people inspired to adopt by the earthquake will be moved to consider one of the children who has been waiting for adoption for some time.

On Memorial Day I wrote Lest We Forget: Troops and Families were Pioneers of International Adoption.

In Landmark Dates in Adoption History, I talk about Harry and Bertha Holt, who started pioneering adoption from Korea in 1955, and about Operation Babylift, the airlift which took hundreds of children away from Saigon just before it fell to the Communists in April 1975.

In The Month of Mothers I reflect on how blogging lets us hear diverse opinions through reading not only the blogs, but the comments of others. I share one controversy I've been reading about, whether birthmothers like the idea of Birthmother's Day, the Saturday before Mother's Day; or whether they would rather be acknowledged on Mother's Day itself.

In The Many Languages of Mother I share a controversy that has arisen among some parents who've adopted internationally. It concerns whether referring to ourselves as the word for "mother" in our child's birth language insensitively diminishes the role of the birthmother, is a way of honoring our child's culture, or goes too far in appropriating that culture for ourselves.

We look forward to sharing many more blogs with you in June!

Learn more about Pam Connell

Pam Connell is a mother of three by both birth and adoption. She has worked in education, child care, social services, ministry and journalism.

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