What message do you want the world to know about adoption? Adoption is hard, easy, challenging, rewarding or what would your t-shirt say? How about, “Adoptive parents are REAL parents?”

Be creative. I have already heard, “Adoption is Love” and it does not work for me. I know that for many adoptive parents, it is sweet and positive. However, most birth parents I know would rather face a firing squad than wear a shirt that said, “Adoption is love.” It isn’t so much that we do not agree that it can be, but it is unoriginal and trite. In addition, for us, love is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when we think of adoption.

As a birth parent, I would prefer a more realistic message to display to the world. “Adoption is pain,” doesn’t quite work though, I must say.
My preference would be something original, or something to make people think.

Anyone have an adoption t-shirt that says something not syrupy sweet, but a useful message to promote? How about a message that both birth and adoptive parents would like and appreciate? Think that is possible?

How about something like, “All Mothers of Adoption are Real”? Might be too long, but most of us could agree with that, right? In my wardrobe, I have two adoption related t-shirts. One refers to adoptees’ right, the other mentions family preservation. I need to check for the exact wording.

Here are a few the work for me as a reunited birth mom:

1. “Reunited, and loving it.”
2. “Open adoptions – hard, but better than closed.”
3. “Reunions = Healing”
4. “Birth Bonds are Real and Important”
5. “No More Closed Adoptions”
6. “Adoption – Not All Have Happy Endings”
7. “The Best Mom for Your Baby is YOU.”
8. “No More Closed Records.”
9. “Parenting is tough, placing is harder.”
10. “Mother love comes in many forms.”
11. "I am the Other Mother."

When I asked my only off-line adoptive mom friend, what her tee-shirt would say, she said, “Be Careful What you Wish for.” She has two adopted children, half-siblings. They were both doing wonderfully well until her son was about 15 years old. Now at age 21 years old, he is still struggling with major issues and refuses all help.