Positive Adoption Language

Spread the Word

How would you characterize these statements – positive or negative?

I’m thinking about giving up my baby for adoption 

I want to put up my baby for adoption 

I can’t decide if I want to keep my baby or give her away

The baby they adopted was illegitimate

The natural parents couldn’t keep him so he was put up for adoption 

The baby they adopted is special needs

The baby got taken away from his real parents

In case you’re still wondering – these are all negative statements! Think about how an adopted person might hear these statements, and then search for better ways to express the same concepts. We’ll make it easy for you:

I’m thinking about giving up my baby for adoption 

I’m thinking about planning adoption for my baby

I want to put up my baby for adoption 

I want to find a family to adopt my baby

I can’t decide if I want to keep my baby or give her away

I can’t decide if I should parent my baby or if I should consider adoption for her 

The baby they adopted was illegitimate

The baby they adopted was born to unmarried parents

The natural parents couldn’t keep him so he was put up for adoption 

His birth parents chose to plan adoption for him 

The baby they adopted is special needs

The baby they adopted has special needs (or ‘has medical concerns’, ‘has developmental delays’, etc.)

The baby got taken away from his real parents

The baby’s birth parents had their parental rights terminated (or ‘voluntarily relinquished their parental rights’)

Words matter! Please help spread the positive message of adoption, by choosing your words carefully…. Ask yourself how what you are about to say will sound to an adopted person, to a birth parent, and to adoptive parents. We can all do our part to present adoption in a positive, and accurate light by using positive adoption language.

Related Posts