Adoption Education

Okay...so I promised a while back that I would write about some of the things we've learned SO FAR through our adoption journey - adoption language, open adoption, adoption not being plan "B", the fact that adoption does NOT replace the pain of infertility, etc.

So, first up - positive adoption language (see a great summary article here).

Here's a few words/phrases that I never realized were hurtful or inaccurate until I started really learning about adoption:

1. "real parents" - our child will have birth parents (or, biological parents), but we will be their real parents, the ones making everyday parenting decisions, providing for him/her, the ones raising him/her (we're not imaginary, as opposed to "real")
2. "giving up a child for adoption" - our agency uses the word "placement".  The birthparents in our special situation will choose to place their child - an extremely painful, courageous choice.  
3. "she's going to keep it" - if, in the end, God leads a birth mother/parents to have a change of heart, she is choosing to parent, instead of choosing to place.

I hope this helps!  These terms have already become a completely natural part of our vocabulary, and I hope they will for you, too.