Using Positive Adoption Language in Arizona
It shouldn’t take a professional writer to tell you that your words are powerful. The language we choose to use on a daily basis carries a great deal of weight and meaning. When it comes to adoption (and especially birth mothers), Adoption Choices of Arizona are the experts in lots of different fields, from helping you find the right adoptive family for your child to ensuring you get the proper care and consideration throughout your personalized adoption process. However, one important topic that relates not just to birth mothers, but to people everywhere, is the language of adoption.
The many ways in which we decide to talk about adoption are important, because the words we say shape our social understanding of the adoption process. This can make a huge difference in the lives of those going through it. For birth mothers, children, and adoptive families everywhere, the language we use to describe adoption can be a major source of emotion, both positive and negative. We want to cover some of the ways in which you can choose to adopt some more positive adoption language into your vocabulary.
If you need adoption help now, please call or text us at 1-480-900-5520 or visit us at Adoption Choices of Arizona.
Why Should I Use Positive Adoption Language?
For many birth mothers, one of the greatest struggles they face in the adoption process is grappling with the emotional stress of the adoption. It cannot be stated enough that adoption is a caring act of compassion and love for your child. When you find yourself in a situation where you feel that you’re unable to care for your child, and you decide to place your child up for adoption, you are showing how much you care about your child and his or her future.
When others choose to describe the process as “giving up” your child or anything that implies a level of failure, they are obscuring the true nature of your selfless action. To choose the adoption process for the benefit of your child’s well-being is in no way an indictment of your ability to be a mother. In fact, it speaks to how much you truly care for your child, as well as your judgement in a difficult situation. Adoption should not be a process wrought with shame and guilt, and to describe it as such with negative adoption language is a terrible misrepresentation of what you’re personally going through as a birth mother.
How Can I Use Positive Adoption Language?
When you are discussing adoption with a birth mother, or anyone else for that matter, consider the way you speak about it. Use positive adoption language, such as referring to the process in ways that don’t constitute “giving up” or “giving away” a child. Look for alternatives that don’t berate a birth mother for an uncontrollable situation. When discussing parents, it’s appropriate to refer to them as “biological parents” or “adoptive parents,” versus demeaning either of their roles by insinuating “real parents” or anything of that nature.
Instead of discussing how a birth mother’s relationship with her child might be negatively affected by the adoption, consider discussing the positive life opportunities that the child will be able to experience through adoption. Never assume that a mother is putting her child up for adoption because she simply “doesn’t want them,” as that is never true. There are lots of small ways you can help make the adoption process a more pleasant experience for either yourself or someone you know as a birth mother.
The Power of Positive Adoption Language
Using positive and uplifting language when talking about adoption is more important now than it ever has been before, as our society looks to break down sociological barriers in the way we communicate with one another. The difference between framing a mother as “giving up her child to adoption” versus simply “placing her child up for adoption” is the difference between an overwhelmingly negative, futile experience and a positive, compassionate embrace of life. These terms and the differences between them can have a great effect on any birth mother and her perspective on the adoption process as a whole.
Using this kind of language encourages birth mothers everywhere to consider what they’re doing for their children in a positive light, as it should be. Adoption is a wonderful thing that gives children a plethora of opportunities in life while giving birth mothers control and focus over their own. While Adoption Choices of Arizona strives to help anyone in need when it comes to adoption, we also want to empower you to make a positive change in your life and in the lives of others, starting today.
For adoption resources or to begin your adoption journey, birth parents can visit us at Adoption Choices of Arizona or call or text us at 1-480-900-5520. If you are an prospective adoptive family hoping to adopt a baby, please instead, visit us here!
Meet the Author: Josh Drogemuller is a Senior at Grand Valley State University and has interests in writing and digital studies. A relative newcomer to the field of professional writing, Josh has spent the last eight years of his educational career honing his skills on the page. Josh is currently working towards a Bachelor of Science in Writing.
Living in the Midwest, Josh looks forward to long baseball games and longer sentences.
