snarkdiva

I have two daughters whom I adopted from Jiangsu Province. Is the average Chinese person aware that many children (mostly girls) are adopted out of China, or is that one of those things that the Chinese government keeps quiet? Was the one-child policy enforced in your home village or were you allowed to have more than one child because it was a rural area? Thank you for doing this AmA

Thank you for your answer! I had heard that parents will be fined for extra children. I am assuming that my girls' parents either could not pay the fine or perhaps were unwed mothers, although my youngest daughter has a birth defect (her right leg is shorter than her left and she has three toes on that foot), so maybe her family could not afford medical care. I'm not sure. We loved visiting China and plan to take the girls back soon to visit (they are both nine years old right now).

Well, thank you. They are awesome children!

We have actually been fairly open with them as to the circumstances of their birth/adoption. We put things in a very kind, age appropriate way, but I think it's important for them to understand that they were not given away because of something they did, but because of other circumstances beyond their control.

I am aware that the issue with my daughter's birth defect was definitely a negative for her. Even the doctor who examined her for her visa was overtly curious about it. Lucky for her, she is so beautiful that I don't think anyone ever looks at her foot! :)