Year in Review, Part II

Part I of my self-indulgent look back is here.  If you've only started reading this blog, maybe the year in review will give you some pointers to what we talk about here!  If you've been reading a while, maybe you'll recall some of these posts.  Whether old or new, Happy New Year to all my readers!

July 2010

The Theology of Adoption, critiquing the current Christian "adoption movement."

International Adoption & Bone Marrow Transplants, looking at the problems faced by international adoptees who have no information about biological family when they need a transplant.

Amy Eldridge of LWB Speaks, my summary of an extremely informative talk by the head of Love Without Boundaries, a charity working in Chinese orphanages, about the changing face of Chinese adoption and about the current challenges of orphan care in China.

Review:  Wo Ai Ni Mommy; my review of this film about an older child adoption from China.

August 2010

Back to School, Shoes Edition, explaining how shoes, especially the little Chinese shoes Maya wore when I first met her, were important on the first day of school.

"Mom, do you have an ethnic group?" How Zoe's school assignment sparked a great discussion of ethnicity, biological relationships and ancestors.

Scott Simon, "Meant to be," & Ethnicity, where I take issue with radio host Scott Simon's interview plugging his new book, where he says ethnicity doesn't matter to his daughters adopted from China.

September 2010

Cultural Assimilation -- Is it a Good Thing?; exploring whether expectations in adoption that the child change/assimilate is a good thing.

Culture, Religion & Adoption, asking whether an adoptive family has an obligation to preserve an adopted child's faith tradition when it is different from their own, particularly with older children.

Underage Mothers Consenting to Adoption, discussing the state of the law in some states that allow underage mothers to place for adoption without counseling, without lawyer representation, without judicial oversight.

October 2010

What's wrong with rescuing orphans?  Looking at the problems caused by the rescue mentality in adoption.

Where do our children fit in? Reporting from the St. John's Adoption Conference, a scholarly talk about the various "fitting-in" strategies adoptive parents of internationally adopted children imploy.

Keeping the Promise: Post-Adoption Services: the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute announces a very important new report about what's missing in post-adoption services.

November 2010

Talking Adoption to the First Grade, my foray into Maya's class to explain adoption.

Adopting Out the Children of Illegal Immigrants, discussing a Missouri case where a mother's parental rights were terminated after she was swept up in an immigration raid and her child placed for adoption.

Race-Based Adoption Fees, looking at the racist practice of charging more to adopt white babies and less to adopt African-American babies.

Intercountry Adoption, Child Laundering & the Hague, exploring the role of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in stopping child trafficking.


December 2010
 
"Get out of my way, I'm entitled to adopt!" Looking at how anti-UNICEF sentiment among some adoptive parents is like blaming the police for enforcing the law instead of blaming the criminals for breaking the law.
 
Paper Pregnancy, Country Ultrasounds, Faux Maternity Photos;  why do some adoptive parents feel the need to co-opt pregnancy terms to describe the adoption wait?
 
Do you feel LUCKY?  A conversation with a friend who seems to believe in the "Bad Seed" theory of adoption.