Adoption today is less veiled in secrecy than it was just a few decades ago. But as every adoptive parent knows, that means sometimes friends, co-workers and even random strangers feel they can blurt out whatever weird thoughts pass through their head on the topic. We polled adoptive parents on some of the worst things people had said to them–or worse, to their kids. The responses left us gobsmacked.
1. Apparently some people equate adopting kids to rescuing a pet from the animal shelter:
?Oh, you adopted older children. That?s like adopting an older dog–they?re already toilet trained.?

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Or…
?What mix are they"?

– Uh, my children are biracial, not labradoodles.

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2. And one co-worker whose dog had just died joked to an adoptive parent: ?So, I?m going to go to Children?s Aid and get a kid too.?

– Sorry if my not laughing just made this conversation awkward.

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3. Some people seem to think adopting a child is like sale shopping:
?Good thing you adopted him, I would have returned him.?

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4. Or a mail-order book club that just keeps sending new packages.
?Why did you adopt so many" Didn’t you like the first ones"?

– Must cancel that subscription.
?Do you ever regret adopting all of them"

– That?s my FAMILY you?re talking about.

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5. There are still people out there whose brains hurt at the concept of transracial adoption:
?Oh, the youngest one?s adopt...