Shopping Website Review: Mandy’s Moon

Mandy’s Moon was started by a mom who adopted a two-year-old and a ten-year-old from Vietnam. She began the site the year after her first daughter arrived, when she realized how hard it was to find objects picturing Asian children. She has expanded to carry merchandise featuring all races, and offers a special personalization service in which not only names, but nicely-drawn cartoon faces of different races, can be put together on products. The “My Family” service gives you ability to select images that resemble your family to be printed on your T-shirt, apron, mug, etc. The images can be … Continue reading →

Multicultural Gifts and Greetings

Just in time for holiday shopping, I’ve discovered Dollslikeme.com,a website which has many dolls, but much more, including hard-to-find ethnic Santas, puzzles, and accessories such as a tea set with images of an Asian ballerina on the “china” (also available with other ethnicity shown). The tea set was rather pricey, but the site also includes more modestly priced items, such as a 14-inch doll that comes with a diary for $30. You can buy gift tags with Santas of different ethnicities. The site carries a line of greeting cards featuring photos of Asian children—for example, as a Christmas elf. The … Continue reading →

Extended Family Members of Adopted Children May Need Hepatitis A Vaccine

If you are beginning an international adoption, you’ve probably thought quite a bit about the health of your potential child. In a home study, you have had to address questions about your own health. A few of us might think 6 months ahead to plan for a trip to our child’s country. Even if we do begin a vaccination schedule for ourselves, we likely wouldn’t think of having our parents or other close relatives, neighbors and babysitters vaccinated. I know I didn’t. But that needs to change. In a sobering case, a 51-year-old adoptive grandmother was hospitalized earlier this spring … Continue reading →

Are Our Kids’ Cultures Represented in Their History Books?

I love the Usborne Encyclopedias for Children, volumes such as World History, World Geography, and Science. However, many of our internationally adopted children will not find their heritage represented. I know full well that you can’t cram all of World History into a children’s volume. I also accept that Western Civilization and American History should play the greater role in books written for American children, which my children certainly are. Still, I worry that they will begin to think that people like themselves had nothing to do with history. When there is mention of Asian history, that refers to China, … Continue reading →

International Adoption Options for Single Men

Just as there are women out there who’ve never found their partner but have always wanted a child, there are men in that position also. However, different countries have different criteria for adoptive parents, and most countries either do not allow singles to adopt or allow only single women to do so. Single men can usually adopt from the U.S. child welfare system, probably the most common option for single men. International adoption opportunity are fewer: China, one of the two countries having the largest numbers of children adopted by U.S. parents, used to permit single parents to adopt (including … Continue reading →

Lesser-Known Programs with Shorter Timeframes: Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America

My last blog offered some general information, thoughts and cautions about adopting from countries with lesser-known, perhaps newer adoption programs with shorter wait times than many other country programs. It also profiled two Asian countries with such programs. This blog presents countries in the Caribbean, Latin America and Eastern Europe which have relatively short timeframes for adoption. Jamaica is a very new program begun in October 2008. It is offered through the adoption agency Hands Across the Water (you can also contact this agency, and agencies working in all the countries described here, through the contact wizard at RainbowKids.com, described … Continue reading →

Adoption Programs You’ve Never Heard Of

In fiscal year 2008, Guatemala, China and Russia were countries with the first, second, and third most adoptions to the United States, according to U.S. State Department figures. In fourth place was Ethiopia, in fifth South Korea, in sixth Vietnam, in seventh Ukraine, in eighth Kazakhstan, in ninth India, in tenth Columbia. The 2007 rankings were much the same: China and Guatemala switched first and second place, the countries in third through ninth place were the same, and in FY 2007 Liberia was in tenth place instead of Columbia. The Country Guidelines tab on the Rainbow Kids website lists some … Continue reading →

Friday Funny: the Befuddled Santa

Our scrapbooking blogger Nicole had a series she called the Friday Funnies . In that spirit I offer this humorous holiday incident, wondering whether other adopted kids have had the same experience. My five-year-old and I were at a smaller shopping mall in our neighborhood. Santa wasn’t busy at the time. He saw my daughter looking at him and came closer to the picket fence of the space defined for photo-taking. “Nee How! Nee How!” he said leaning toward Regina. He waved vigorously. “Nee how!” I was wondering what was in Santa’s eggnog that day when I remembered that Ni … Continue reading →

Ensuring Our Children’s Proof of Citizenship, and, A Little Ceremony Could Have Been a Good Thing

The Child Citizenship act of 2000 provides that children adopted by U.S. citizens automatically achieve citizenship, either when they enter the U.S. if the adoption was finalized in a foreign court, or when the adoption is finalized if there is a waiting period before the adoption is finalized in U.S. court. NOTE: Although under this relatively recent act, children are automatically citizens, it is still advisable to get a Certificate of Citizenship . Children who enter the U.S. on an IR-3 visa are now supposed to be sent one automatically upon entering the U.S. , but if you adopted before … Continue reading →

How to Adopt from Two Countries at the Same Time

We did something that is a bit unusual, but with increasing delays in different countries is becoming more common. We adopted from two countries at the same time. When we were in process for Guatemala and then found a child we wanted to adopt from Liberia, we questioned if we could even do it and if so, how to do it. As I began to ask around about it, I found that very few people even knew if it could be done. Then, I started to find families who had adopted from two countries at the same time or who … Continue reading →