An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
title: “Parents Give Adopted Kids Away When They Decide They Don T Like Them” ShowToc: true date: “2024-08-27” author: “Maurice Turner”
An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
title: “Parents Give Adopted Kids Away When They Decide They Don T Like Them” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-23” author: “Bill Koerner”
An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
title: “Parents Give Adopted Kids Away When They Decide They Don T Like Them” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-10” author: “Ellen Coy”
An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
title: “Parents Give Adopted Kids Away When They Decide They Don T Like Them” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-25” author: “Eric Rowley”
An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
title: “Parents Give Adopted Kids Away When They Decide They Don T Like Them” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-04” author: “Kathleen Bennett”
An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
title: “Parents Give Adopted Kids Away When They Decide They Don T Like Them” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-17” author: “Scott Pena”
An investigative probe by Reuters and NBC News delved deep into underground “adoptions” that are really no more than people posting on the Internet that they don’t want their kids anymore and are looking for someone who does. Most of the time, but not all of the time, these kids were adopted from foreign countries. The children usually range in age from 6 to 14. Over a five-year period, Reuters found on average one child a week being “rehomed.” (The actual term these people use — I guess “abandonment” doesn’t sound so nice.)
The parents usually want to rid themselves of kids who came with unexpected behavioral issues — and the adoptive parents usually give up and don’t want to deal anymore. The ads sound like people’s listings for bothersome pets — only they’re talking kids. Wrote one “mother”: “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy!”
More from The Stir: Mom Who Lost Custody of Daughter to Sex Offender Should Just Kidnap Her
Others take a different tack and use more enticing advertising. One ad read:
Naturally, the kids then often fall into the hands of abusers, pedophiles, and molesters. All of this apparently goes on either with little government oversight or illegally. Sometimes the kids are tracked down and returned to their adoptive parents. Which doesn’t sound like the best idea either.
I sympathize with parents who find themselves with children they didn’t quite sign up for — ones who can be dangerous to the rest of the household, or who eat up immense amounts of emotional and psychological energy, or finances.
But when you sign up to become a parent, you don’t always get what you want. A kid isn’t a toy. A kid isn’t some fantasy ideal. Deciding to become a parent is a lifelong commitment — whether you birthed that child or not. And if it doesn’t turn out the way you pictured it, then seek help. Handing over a kid to a stranger on the Internet is just crazy. DON’T become a parent if you can’t take on a lifelong responsibility that may not be the one you pictured.
What do you think of this?
Image via Spirit-Fire/Flickr
