I meant to offer a challenge to my readers yesterday but my future sister-in-law had a bridal shower and my day disappeared. And so, first and foremost, let me wish a Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers reading this blog. Birth Fathers. Adoptive Fathers. Fathers by Birth. Stepfathers. Foster Fathers. Grandfathers. Fathers-to-be. And, simultaneously, a Happy Day to all of those males that have been a Father figure in some child's life.

We're having a grand day over here! The weather is fabulous. And right now? Both boys are napping and my... more

Yesterday I wrote about how some birth mothers react to the subject of Father's Day when it comes to their relinquished child's biological father. I asked the same question of adoptive parents. Much like in the birth mother group, their answers varied widely. I expect no less as adoption is such a unique... more

I asked readers to e-mail me and forum members to reply with their experiences of being a birth mother and the emotions and actions surrounding their child's biological father and Father's Day. I got some great responses of varied experience. For this I am glad! We need more voices, more stories being told so that others might catch a glimpse.

A group that I accidentally and largely neglected to address in my previous post spoke up in large number: birth mothers who married their child's biological father. To be fair, I may have subconsciously left them... more

I'm doing two separate gift guides. I know you're excited. This one will be a list of ideas for adoptive parents, adoptees and birth mothers to give to a birth father. If you're happening in via Google and don't know what I mean by birth father, I'm referring to a father who has placed his child for adoption. Many more biological fathers are becoming actively involved in open adoptions at the same time that many adult adoptees are reuniting with their first fathers. These are some gift ideas for those fathers as they deserve some recognition as well.

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I spent a week and some odd days talking about Mother's Day and how the day affects the birth mother masses. In the past, I've just made a solitary post each year about Father's Day and those biological fathers in our midst. I don't think that's quite fair, do you? So we're going to bump it up a notch here on the Birth Parent Blog.

But I need some help from others. Mainly because I'm not a birth father. Or a father. Or a man.

I will be discussing... more

Rape is not an easy subject for me to write about on any level. No woman should ever have to go through the dehumanizing, demoralizing and destructive act of rape. The truth is that some women do. And this article out of Maryland is interesting in many ways.

First off, I was not aware that fathers who conceive children via rape (in Maryland) retain parental rights. You read that right. They can appeal for rights to visitation. They can fight for custody. My stomach... more

I'm kind of tired of seeing biological fathers dissed on various forums, blogs and in adoption settings in general. I'm feeling a need to speak up and speak out about their plight. While I'm a first mother and not a first father, I've watched my daughter's biological father struggle to figure out how to handle the grief and loss and confusion. I've watched a few other public birth fathers speak out about their experiences. I've written about biological fathers who were denied the right... more

An editorial article in the Vancouver Sun speaks volumes about the injustices that many biological fathers face when dealing with less than optimal and/or ethical mothers, agencies and attorneys. The brief article talks about a recent case in which a father was denied rights to his child, placed for adoption, because of the law on the books.

In British Columbia, the Adoption... more

Truth be told, fathers in adoption often get the short end of the stick. Stereotypes held toward fathers are sometimes even worse and often harder to break. Society still sees birth fathers as men who have deserted a woman they got pregnant. Truth be told, some of these men have been lied to and deceived and, in the end, their loss is a child to parent.

While some laws have been instated to help protect a birth mother's rights (though how often these rights are stepped on is somewhat disturbing), biological... more

As much as I try to dispel myths about all birth fathers being bad guys, I rarely discuss birth dads who were not such great guys. Unplanned pregnancy can present quite a challenge to birth fathers, and sometimes they do not handle the situation too well. Some birth fathers are just dysfunctional bad guys, and never get any better. Others mature and become decent, loving and caring men.

At reunion, many birth mothers still harbor lots of ill feelings for the birth fathers of their children. Sometimes those feelings may be justified. Many... more