Angelina has added to her collection

[JanH]

one cute Vietnamese boy - aged 3, she has changed his name, he speaks no English but she was able to just take him away anyway, allegedly...

I totally agree SD, the issue of her adopting isn't a problem to me - she could adopt 10 per year if she wanted and as long as they were well cared for then that's fine. It just annoys me that us mere mortals can't adopt that easily but as you say, I can't be certain that they are getting preferential treatment, it just appears that way IMO.

If it were as easy as it seems for celebrities, wouldn't a lot of childless couples consider adoption more readily than they do at the moment?

I do agree with you, but maybe it is because of where she lives & where she is adopting from? obviously there is a law we all have to follow weather she has done this time will tell, i just feel that she is a wonderful person for doing what she does because it really is so sad to see what lives these poor babies/children are having.

We also don't know how long this has been in the planning & what has been done "behind the scenes" as it were to organise it, it must be hard because she always has the paparazi trying to do a story or suggest what she is doing, so obviously some bits get missed out & they just make it up to sound good, BUT it may be far from the truth & ange & brad may sit on there sofas laughing at what is being said about how easy it is etc etc.

don't you think it could have something to do with a little cash incentive for these poor countries though?

Hmm, I see your point SD but tend to agree with CyrilSquirrel.

Let's face it: she's a freak.

...haviong said that, I wouldn't mind sitting on the sofa with Brad....

wilkie50 - if you would like a list of americans I know who have adopted three children over four years from three different countries please CAT me and I will email you a link to the intercountry adoption support groups on yahoo where you will find plenty.

AS I said before it often takes 6-9 months to adopt in the US so a two year gap between each adoption is perfectly normal there. She may have been given special treatment but not as much as you might think.

Probably none in the UK as it doesn't work that fast here.

Angelina Jolie is not the perfect mother, lucky for me that isn't required in order to adopt.

I love how people who adopt are held to a much higher standard of being "normal" than birth parents. Where was the thread about how she shouldn't be allowed to give birth because she was self-obsessed/freaky/had an affair with brad Pitt/too thin (sorry can't remember all the objections)

As for she is adopting these children to satisfy her own needs - why did any of you have children? Becuase they were going to cure cancermaybe? Because your child would be better off alive and with your family rather than a separate egg and sperm destined never to meet? I'm only guessing but I suspect you had them to satisfy your own needs.

I was soooo not going to come back to htis thread. Issymum - you have more experience than me, is there a special wall I can go bang my head on?

Sue this thread has gone way ahead since I last saw it. You may not be a perfect parent (but who is?), however seeing your ds's smile when with you makes me think you are pretty darn close. Will now go back and read the thread to see where this thread went awry.

twas at about 18.40'ish Cov when the main obection to her adopting seemed to be that she "stole" Brad Pitt from Jen. And apparently she's too thin (not a charge that can be leveled at me!).

Go to bed jonez...

Nice of you to say so Cov, but I must come clean and say that I can take no credit for his lovely smile, it is just because he is lovely . Oh god am I allowed to say that my son is beautiful or am I going to be pilloried for "choosing" a pretty child (to match my film star looks)

No I was talking about the way his face lights up when he sees you.

I find it incredibly depressing how women can constantly put other women down when they know nothing of the real details of the situation.
I have nothing but admiration for anyone who adopts be they famous or otherwise.

Sue - there was no offence meant. If you read my posts I was saying that I didn't see why people have a problem with Angelina adopting more children. You will also see that I did acknowledge I didn't have all of the facts to make a clear judgement on the timescales - I was merely expressing an opinion that I feel celebrities appear to get preferential treatment which I am certain does happen.

Surely the whole point of MN is for a healthy discussion and debate - I was not 'Angelina bashing' or otherwise.

Also, if a thread upsets you (which clearly ths one does), why keep coming back? (that is not meant in a nasty way, purely a rhetorical question).

well I think its terrible!!!!!!

it woudl be much better for this little boy to live in an institution until he is 16, then live on the streets and work as a rent boy, addicted to glue/drugs/alcohol. So what is he is found dead in a back alley in his 20s. at least he coudl keep the name given to him by the orphanage staff and not have to bear the name chosen by his mother. and not have to live with an too skinny unmarried mother

"Issymum - you have more experience than me, is there a special wall I can go bang my head on?"

Not a wall. What I normally do is sneak into the girls' room and watch them sleeping securely, happily and infinitely loved. Then I spend a little time imagining what life would have been like for them had they not been adopted. After that I have a short snivvel, brace up and accept that not all internet dialogue is constructive for all of us, all of the time.

Wilkie - I didnt take offence at what you said - was just trying to point out that the system in the US is VERY different to the UK. I have done LOTS of research into LOTS of different countries re adoption over a VERY long period of time and it isn't that obvious to me whether she got preferential treatment (certianly over timing and speed though possibly the singing choir of children wouldn't have happened had she been famous) so I'm surprised that people who know a lot less are so convinced that she did.

I really have no idea. I waited for a long time and don't have a problem with her adoption being faster why does anyone else? I have an issue with certian things she does but mostly those things weren't discussed past the intial posts.

I'm still on because it's something I feel strongly about and thought (obviously mistakenly) that people could be educated as to the reality of intercountry adoption if only in a small way. Live and learn.

(reg poster whose trying a name change) You know I think that she is much maligned, She wants her children, and so she adopts. Would Mumsnetters have been so judgemental with Mia Farrow adopting her dozen kiddies if we had been around in the 70/80's. I bet not as much as we are maligning Angelina Jolie, and I bet people are only having a pop at her because of her percieved promiscuessness(sp!) Can you actually say how many lovers she has had, not that many for a 30yr old woman eh! Or is it her sexual nature that make you feel she is an easy target?

I have just read (but it is in a magazine so not sure if it is 1000% true) that Vietnamese adoption laws prevent unmarried couples from adopting hence she has adopted as a single parent despite co-habiting and her other children are now jointly adopted. Seems not quite above board.

Good luck to her and to those on here who've also adopted from overseas.

Cov - most countries don't allow unmarreid couples to adopt (Uk and US are rare exceptions). But will allow singles with a boyfriend to adopt.

Someone I know did exactly that in Kaz - in fact they preferred it to no boyfriend as they are terrified of gay people adopting there. The boyfriend is ususally mentioned in the home study (in my experience) so they're not trying to pretend. The usual reason is the legality ie most countries don't recognise unmarried fathers rights therefore it would make no sense to them having an unmarried father adopting. I would think that it would be a bit difficult to hide Brad Pitt as your boyfriend so I would assume the vietnamese authorites knew. Not sure of that, but thats certinaly how it works in my experience.

I probably won;t go back to the same country for my next adoption either. For many reasons, all of them private and none of them to do with fashion. Though very happy to be compared with Angelina J

I think adopting a child and giving them a new happy family life is a wonderful thing, my youngest brother is adopted and I know my parents had to jump through loads of hoops to be able to adopt him, they fostered a lot of children before they finally adopted. I dont know a lot about the adoption process because when my brother was adopted I was only 12.

My problem with Angelinas adoptions is why is she not adopting from the USA? I was watching something on tv recently it was about abandonded babies and children in the usa in what were known as hellholes, it was an orphanage from memory the children were those of mothers in gangs etc. These children are equally in need and deserving of a loving family, and maybe if she adopted a child from there her celebrity status would encourage other americans to consider it. These children were also very likely to when turfed out of the orphanages at 16 end up on the streets, on drugs etc and dead at 21. These were also young children. To me her choosing to go outside of the states for a child almost looks like publicity seeking. At least though another child is going to have a (hopefully) loving family upbringing

Have been lurking on this thread and am quite shocked how quick some people are to spout completely uninformed opinions with such vitriol.
I think it's great and although yes she does seem slightly bonkers I don't think she's anymore bonkers than anyone else in Hollywood. For all we know 99% of them have skeletons in their closets and TBH Tom Cruise seems more of a nutter to me.
I should think that by adopting children from very poor families abroad means less chance of the parents turning up on celebrities' doorstep requesting handouts or selling their tragic stories to the press. Even the poorest Philadelphian can hitchike to Hollywood.

Read half the thread - got bored.

You're all insane - 3 times did I have to look at that pic before giving up and reading which one he was - I couldn't spot the "pretty" one from the other pretty ones!!!

Yes, she adopts from abroad. From what I can tell she works hard to keep them growing up knowing their own culture (and I was reading an old article this morning with her saying she wanted to adopt again and was worried whether to introduce an extra country, or give Maddox or Zahara a "sibling" from their own country - it was caring what they needed most).

In photos all the time? I have rarely seen Shiloh at all, and the other two it is only occasionally - I see Beckham Boys more.

Vial of blood - good sense, nice bit of dna should anything happen to him

Yes, she has been a bit odd over the years - as I have been too and probably most of you... the blood example was years before children.

Brad/Jen etc - it is not the issue!! It doesn't matter if it was above board or not - it happened. It doesn't change her parenting or the couple they are now.

ARGH!