The latest copy of The Futurist has news that should feed the already-swollen egos of a bajillion adoptive parents. The subheading says it all: "New study shows adoptive parents may have a slight advantage". That link goes to an abstract of the article, but basically, what it's saying is this: A study in the American Sociological Review looked at how growing up in "nontraditional" families affects kids. There's a wealth of information about how much better two-parent families are than one-parent families as far as outcomes for the kids (on average,... more

Hey, you gotta read this: Chloe Comes Home is a blog written by Chloe Mellon, who was adopted from China and has, at the age of 9, gone back for the first time. Her dad is a journalist with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, so of course, her exploits are being published. There's video of Chloe and her two sisters (Brooke, 7, and Jessie, 4) eating in restaurants and playing with babies in orphanages... more

First: an announcement. Over in the China Adoption Forums, there's a writer for Redbook looking for adoptive moms of kids from China interested in being interviewed. And becoming a hero to an adoring crowd of Redbook readers, one would hope. You'll have to use your real name and allow photos of the family to appear in the magazine.

Second: another announcement. "Yes, Tiana, they do have boys in China."

I felt that needed to be said... more

While waiting for son (son!), we joined one of those cyberspace squats where you all sort of check the calendar together and go "Is the paperwork there yet? Are referrals here yet?" and when the answer is "No," you reminisce about Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and swap mix CDs. There's some talking about adoption and ... more

I remember, when I was in the paperwork purgatory of the Long Wait for Daughter, reading a story online from one of those Been-There-Done-That parents about their flight home to the United States from China.

The woman was sitting with her new bundle of joy next to a Chinese businessman, who was, naturally, curious about what this white woman was doing with a Chinese infant in her arms. And she said, "Well, I'm her mother - we just adopted a Chinese baby and we're taking her home." And the businessman... more

Going to China in the near future? Looking for more news about what's going on? It might be getting a little more difficult - and helping out your child's Social Welfare Institute after you're back home might be getting a little more difficult too. The problem is communication.

Government officials seem to be getting a little fed up with the media after the latest food safety report reveals ... more

Somehow, last Sunday I missed this brief story. On the page, it seems a little too small for its significance.

The One-Child Policy is the Chinese government's response to a crippling overpopulation problem, and it's the reason why there's an international adoption program from China.

Urban couples are allowed... more

One of the things I did after we adopted Daughter was buy an erhu. I'm not sure exactly why - I had adopted a child, not any special skill as a musician - but I sort of fell in love with the old men and women sitting outside on Sunday mornings, playing their odd little two-string violins for anyone to hear. And, for someone who played a little guitar, it seemed an easy enough instrument to pick up.

When I finally,... more

Remember how China's food safety minister got sentenced to death last month?

Well, his appeals just ran out and ... more

File this under things I don't have to worry about *exactly*:

The popular science journal Nature has a story on a woman donating her eggs to her own daughter, who has a medical condition that makes her unable of creating eggs of her own. It's the first time this has happened, and has ethicists raising their eyebrows. If the girl uses the donated eggs, her daughter will also be her own half-sister.

At least that's now Nature is pitching the story. There's a ... more