Happy National Adoption Month: To promote awareness for children in foster care in the United States. It began as National Adoption Week in 1976 by Governor Michael Dukakis and it was declared by President Reagan in 1984. Then it was expanded to a whole month by President Clinton.
The Adoption Series will feature those in the adoption triad: The Birth Family, Adoptee, Adoptive Family. There may be differing opinions among those in the adoption community and that is ok. It is important to respect other's opinions and sometimes one can learn from someone's different opinions.
This week in The Adoption Series: The Adoptee. The following post was written by me, Liu Miao. I am a Chinese adoptee. I love to blog and eat. Adoption is very important to me. I love to help bring awareness and educate others about adoption. I have a lot of opinions about adoption, but it is so important to hear from other adoptees, adoptive families, and birth families so this is why I started The Adoption Series.
Please Remember that this post doesn't represent the opinions or experiences of all adoptees. This post only represents my experiences and opinions.
Most of use social media to share about our lives to friends and families. Social media is also used to keep connected with people. I have noticed in the adoption community that there is a tendency to share about adopted kids and their journey. Sometimes these accounts are public too. No I don't think it is always bad to share about your adopted kids. Sharing on social media can encourage another fellow adoptive parent, bring awareness about adoption or help educate someone about adoption.
I think that there is a point of sharing too much online. Adopted kids have a special story and sometimes it isn't appropriate to share it verbally or online. There comes a time when the kids need to be the one to share their story especially as they become older. You may say that my kids are very young. I would suggest that one doesn't share to many details about their story to the public ( unless it is like the doctors or another situation calls for detail). Some kids may not care if their story is shared. It depends on each person. I would suggest asking your kids because sometimes they may be afraid to hurt your feelings. Even as an adult adoptee, I don't always share the specific details of my adoption story because there are some details that don't need to be shared on the blog or Instagram. Remember before posting or speaking with someone, is this a detail that needs to be shared? If my child was an adult, would they be ok if this detail was shared on social media or verbally to someone. Just something to consider.
~Liu Miao~
Have you seen the Instagram account @fostermoms? Even now that their 3 children are officially adopted, they don't share their faces, names, or much info that directly identifies the kids (and usually themselves too). I've never seen an account like that before and I like how much thought they put into sharing experiences while first protecting the privacy of their children.
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