Comments for The Chronicles of Munchkin Land

Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by stephanie

stephanie — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:21:24 +0000

Jenna,
I can’t tell you how much I love your blog! This post is another reason why. I found your blog about a year ago while researching for a paper on adoption. That was by far the best speech that I have given and I was proud to do it. But it was then that I discovered how ignorant people can be, and how the media isn’t helping that. Sometimes I am at a loss how to help my generation understand that adoption is one of the most beautiful pictures of love! Posts like today’s remind me just how important it is to get that message out.

Please keep it up!

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by shannon

shannon — Sat, 19 May 2012 02:13:17 +0000

I can’t believe people think that way and make you question your parenting ability. I’m so sorry you have to experience that judgement.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by T

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:11:44 +0000

There must be something in the air! I was just thinking about several of these issues today. Great post. Bravo! I’m well over two decades past relinquishment (open adoption that closed). My youngest (raised/parented) kiddo is almost 18 … and, yes, I have been a helicopter parent for precisely the reasons you cite here. I wonder how many birth-first parents wind up becoming overprotective or seek ever-illusive parental perfection to compensate for society’s ignorance. Beyond the more “enlightened” sector of the adoption community, this manner of thought sadly abounds.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Lea

Lea — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:42:35 +0000

This brought up a memory of a conversation I had with a friend of mine. She adopted her son via private adoption. It is open and one day my friend T was talking to M (her son’s biological mom) about adoption. M has 3 children she is parenting.

T told M she was afraid that their son would wonder why M didn’t keep him. M’s response was that she was afraid her other children would ask her why they weren’t adopted.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Mia

Mia — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:49 +0000

It’s really surprising to me that so many people don’t understand the difference between voluntary placement and foster care placement/adoptions–and that lack of awareness makes this kind of show both scary (in addition to being in poor taste, exploitative, and coercive) and POTENTIALLY educational, if they would bother to stop they hyperbolic replays for a moment and educate viewers about the difference.

I have met lots of people (even people who have adopted family members through one kind of adoption or the other) who conflate private and foster care adoption and assume either that all adopted kids were victims of abuse/neglect or that kids in foster care can’t be adopted.

I wish someone would sue TLC/MTV whoever on behalf of the children involved in these shows. Just because a young mother is a willing victim shouldn’t mean that her children have to have their privacy violated.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Jess

Jess — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:21:24 +0000

Oh, Jenna. I just saw this post, but it’s like we shared a brain on this one. Adding you to the list of posts which inform one of my recent ones (my post here).

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Jenna

Jenna — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:26:09 +0000

Ohio is not known for being very open-minded and accepting, no.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Adoptionlies

Adoptionlies — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:21:29 +0000

Good God there are people out there like that? I must have been blessed because I never had this experience as a birthmother and my heart goes out to those who did. There were people out there who judged us but they still let their kids sleep over and so forth. I am not saying this to be boastful but just that not all communities act like this. I think you might be living amongst some bad apples.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Jenna

Jenna — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:27 +0000

No other reason other than it was submitted at 4:39pm, and I leave my computer at 4:00 — though I left earlier yesterday. As this was your first comment, it was automatically hung for approval as per my comment policy. Anyone who showed up after you already had a comment approved and thus doesn’t get hung in moderation.

Please be patient. This is not a professional site. It is my own. I am human. I have a life outside of these pixels.

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Comment on The Pervasive Belief That All Who Relinquish Were Going to Harm Their Child by Lydia

Lydia — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:39:13 +0000

Ah Jenna that is sickening. But I do believe that there is a fair dose of mummy guilt/parental doubt in us all, whatever the birth circumstances of our children, over how we feed, sleep, educate our children, whether we work or not, and if so what hours…

when my firstborn was a few months old my mum told me something very wise, which I cling onto in moments like that… ‘there’s no such thing as the perfect mother. there are only good enough mothers, and ‘good enough’ is good enough’. My children are warm, fed, (mostly) clean, and very much loved.. and that is good enough.

Keep on being good enough (in fact you are far more than that!) :) xx

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