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Are You Considering Adoption Announcements?
I recently decided to adopt a
child. I never had thought about it, but adopting a child
involves a lot of difficult negotiating, especially in the first
year. Don't get me wrong, we clicked very quickly. The problem
was, I couldn't figure out exactly how to introduce him to the
family. I have a large extended family, including many friends
who are not technically related to me. They were all happy to
hear that I had decided to adopt a child, and I wanted to have a
party to welcome him into the family. Nonetheless, I couldn't
decide on the issue of adoption announcements.
You see, adoption birth announcements can be pretty tricky. On
the one hand, you do not want the baby boy announcements to make
the child stand out. You want him to feel relaxed and
comfortable in the family. Adoption announcements would be bad
enough for a newborn child, but my child was already three years
old! Although he would probably forget his early life,
nonetheless I did not want to traumatize him with the party.
I could not figure out whether or not to send out adoption
announcements. If you have worked with children, you might think
that it would be an easy decision to make. A social worker
friend of mine said that it was clearly a situation where I
should let the event pass without celebration. She said adoption
announcements can make them feel like they are outcasts or
freaks.
Instead, she suggested having a few intimate friends over at a
time and gradually introducing him to everyone. The problem was
that I knew if I didn't send out adoption announcements, I was
probably bound to offend someone. My family is very big on
formality, and the adoption announcements were almost a given to
them. They figured that if anyone was joining the family,
whether they were adopted, newborn, or someone's fiancé, they
should be brought around to meet everyone.
Finally, I decided not to get adoption announcements. Instead, I
waited until his first birthday. Although a few people were
miffed at the absence of an adoption announcements party, the
vast majority of my relatives understood. You have to be very
careful with an adopted child's feelings. Children in general
can be delicate, but adopted children are especially prone to be
so. Adopting a child, after all, is not like adopting a pet. You
can not just show him around and expect him to love everyone and
everyone to love him. It takes a lighter touch, and a longer
period of time than that.
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