If you read German, please have a look at our German blog and our website.

Dienstag, 17. Mai 2011

Hitting, Smacking, Yelling - Silence

After the meeting of the US State Department with stakeholders on adoptions from Ethiopia on January 24th, there was a broad discussion about the insufficient documentation of the origin of adopted children as well as the practices of agencies, the Ethiopian authorities and courts.

To one of the subjects dealt with at the Conference there were hardly any reactions even though it was in the final ' 4 take-home messages for adoptive parents'. The second of these messages is according to the protocol of the Organization 'ethica':

Adoptive parents should seek out pre-adoptive education on child development and attachment. They should check their attitudes when in-country, but more than that, realize that practices such as hitting, smacking, or yelling at children are extremely harmful for both the children themselves and the future of the program.

That something seemingly obvious is stressed in such a way (and must be?), is yet notable. And perhaps also significant. The preparation and education of future adoptive parents on behaviour abroad and the treatment of children in public.

And in private? The bad impression that adoptive parents leave in the host country if they shout at or smack their children, threatens the adoption programme as a whole. But what will happen to them at home? You can guess how these children might fare in the future and which (new) injuries are inflicted to them.


On this point: Silence.

First published in German on April 11th, 2011

Keine Kommentare:

Kommentar veröffentlichen