Sarah Palin

Parents of Girls Take Note

Submitted by LisaS on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 08:45

Many of us who have adopted from outside the U.S. have adopted girls. Although they are not allowed to hold the office of president or vice-president, they can be elected to any other public office in our country. That is the good news. But here is the bad news: women just aren’t getting into public office enough.

Here are some sad facts:

  • The Supreme Court of the U.S. is made up of eight men and one woman.
  • In the current U.S. congress, only 16% of the seats are held by women. Countries like Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uganda have a higher percentage of women in their government.
  • As of February 21, 2008, of the 1,193 mayors of U.S. cities with populations over 30,000, 187, or 15.7%, were women.
  • There are eight women governors leading the following States: Michigan, Kansas, Arizona, Washington, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Parenting Adopted Child With Special Needs: Pressure Not to Work

Submitted by FaithA on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 07:54

Girls (c) Lynda BernhardtEver since John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, I have heard several people criticize the fact that Sarah Palin wants to be Vice President while parenting a baby with Down Syndrome. That got me thinking about all of the people who adopt special needs children. How many of those adoptive parents hear criticism about their choice to return to work after adopting a child with special needs?

On the one hand, I understand that a special needs child requires more attention than a typical child. I live with an adopted child with special needs. My son has both asthma and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I have to pour more of myself into him than I see many other parents doing. That is not to say that other people do not invest in their children – only that I seem to have to invest so much more in order to meet my son’s special needs.

On the other hand, I need a break because of how much work is involved in parenting my adopted child with special needs.