Idiocracy

[Morrigoon]

To those who want kids but haven't, for whatever reason, been able to come by them in the traditional manner, there is always adoption. Not just the tedious, expensive, American kind, but international adoption too.

(slightly off-topic alert)

I've been following the blog of a lady in the valley who adopted two boys from Russia just over a year ago, and it's been really eye-opening. Of course adopting from America is great too, but something about taking kids out of desperately awful conditions in other countries and giving them a shot at being in the lucky 3% of the world population fortunate enough to live in this country... it just makes adopting a kid that much more appealing. Given my choice, I'd like to have two and adopt one, probably from abroad. Unfortunately my mate of choice isn't so hip on the whole adoption thing, so I probably won't get to, but I think it's really great.

Anyway, that blog is: http://kaufmanfamily2.spaces.live.com/
If you go back to the first posts, they go through the whole adoption process, trip to Russia, etc.

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

To those who want kids but haven't, for whatever reason, been able to come by them in the traditional manner, there is always adoption. Not just the tedious, expensive, American kind, but international adoption too.

Also, you can avoid the expensive portion of adopting an American kid by working with Social Services. If you live in Orange County (CA), you are fortunate enough to be in the area of one of the best Social Services agencies in the country. This is where we know that we will go once we get things in gear. Yes, we know that we are probably getting into a special needs situation, but this is okay with us.

[JWBear]

Originally Posted by Kevy Baby

...If you live in Orange County (CA), you are fortunate enough to be in the area of one of the best Social Services agencies in the country...

On behalf of my coworkers and myself, Thank you!

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by JWBear

On behalf of my coworkers and myself, Thank you!

I did not know that's where you worked JW.

Susan and I went through all of the adoption training through the county, but did not follow-through because we wanted to make one more effort to conceive (although the folks were VERY interested in having us adopt because of our backgrounds - they envisioned adopting siblings!!!). I think it is time to revisit the topic as we ain't got no bun in the oven.

When we started (looking at adoption), we did some research and that's when we discovered how good the department was.

Kudos to you and your co-workers!

[Alex]

Here's my view on "you'll make great parents."

I have no idea. Many incredibly nice people make for horrible parents and plenty of otherwise rotten people make for great parents. People who manage to produce one great kid will find that the other one turns out rotten even though they were exposed to the same parenting.

So with all the friendly emotion I can muster I say "If you become parents I'm sure you'll work hard at it."

[wendybeth]

Originally Posted by Alex Stroup

Here's my view on "you'll make great parents."

I have no idea. Many incredibly nice people make for horrible parents and plenty of otherwise rotten people make for great parents. People who manage to produce one great kid will find that the other one turns out rotten even though they were exposed to the same parenting.

So with all the friendly emotion I can muster I say "If you become parents I'm sure you'll work hard at it."

My criteria for what might make a good parent are the following: intelligence, patience, ability to think outside the box, stable home environment, belief in the value of a good, well-rounded education and the ability to keep a pet alive for more than three weeks. Oh, and it's good to actually like children.

I'd say they fit that description.