I love being an advocate for all kinds of adoptions, and one of the great perks of being an adoptive mom is that people often ask me where to start and how to learn more about adoption.
Here’s a general list to get you going:
1. Lifetime Original Movies from the 1990s.
One of the best ways to learn about the whole process is to watch Tori Spelling or Meredith Birney run screaming from a deranged teenager who just wants her baby back. Bonus points if there is an exclamation mark in the title for extra drama and truthiness. Sure, these stories are highly fictionalized and by highly fictionalized I mean utter trash and completely untrue, but they are so much more entertaining than, say, checking out the FAQ content on trusted adoption websites like Adoption.org.
2. Randomly Googling.
While you are freaking out about your bundle of joy turning into a serial killing toddler make sure to start googling things like “Will my child become a serial killer toddler.” Yes, you could make yourself feel safer and calmer by finding informational and helpful forums and boards with kind and helpful members of all three sides of the adoption triad, but then your heart rate wouldn’t be going and you wouldn’t burn any calories. YOU ARE WELCOME, FITBIT.
3. Asking that one lady at your church who had a cousin that knew a lady who adopted and that same exact day got pregnant with triplets and she didn’t even have a uterus.
This happens all the time, you guys, and is way more informational than searching a reputable website for kids who are ready for adoption from foster care and learning about the requirements in your state to foster-adopt.
4. Hashtag searching on Twitter.
You can spend days on the rabbit hole of #chinaadopt or #adoptfromChina and that’s always time well spent. Twitter is consistently a fountain of information from non-racists who have your best interests at heart, after all. Then move on to Reddit. You could learn quickly and easily about the requirements each country has, and about Hague-Approved adoptions, from the State Department, or from a trusted ethical agency, but then you wouldn’t have to wash the filth of humanity off of yourself like you will after a day spent on social media—and where’s the fun in that?
Did I miss any? What are your tried-and-true resources for learning about adoptions/favorite Lifetime Movie Nightmares? Let me know in the comments!
Do you feel there is a hole in your heart that can only be filled by a child? We’ve helped complete 32,000+ adoptions. We would love to help you through your adoption journey. Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98.
