Did you know - we don't just have only children . . .

[Takver]

. . we're virtuous, eco-friendly people who are going to save the planet

Yes, several of my family and friends have been recycled too.

Reduce reuse recycle.
one or no child, borrowed children, adopted children.

at people referring to adopted children as "recycled".

apologies for your feeling Jrabbit, I'm poking my tonuge firmly in my check and having a play on words refering to my reduced/ recycled family.
My nieces and nephews are a mix of adopted and birth children. One of my neices pitys my child for only having one mother.

Sorry if I made you feel sad Rebecca.... I love my children dearly and they were absolutely first choice for us!
This was a joke that myself and DH had as we were keen recyclers before the government woke up to the fact that it was needed.
I really didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings.

No harm done, shockers and UniS

StillCrazy - I don't think adoption is a new beginning for a child; it's a continuation of a life which has had some sadness and loss that will probably never be fully resolved.

I have 4 dc probably for all the wrong reasons!!!

If we lived in an extended family type situation with lots of love and people to go around I would have been more content to have stopped sooner. They are the only family I have apart from the in-laws. If there were lots of nieces and nephews, siblings, aunts etc then I think I would have felt less need to provide my dc with siblings. Not sure if that makes sense!

I think I have been selfish to have so many, although contraception issues have played a part in my starting my family so young and expanding it all too easily.

wiki says about this book:

In his book, Maybe One, Bill McKibben argues in favor of a one child policy based on this research. He argues that most cultural stereotypes are false, that there are not many differences between only children and other children, and where there are differences, they are favorable to the only child. Aside from scoring significantly better in achievement motivation, only children score significantly better in personal adjustment to new situations. Only children are also more likely to make outside friends, whereas children with siblings tend to be "more parochial and limited in their understanding of a variety of social roles."[6]

RebeccaRabbit - Ok, if you're determined to be picky, adoption is a new chapter. Obviously the child's previous life will always be there. As for 'sadness and loss that will probably never be fully resolved', .

I'm not "determined to be picky", I'm giving my opinion. And don't be so bloody ignorant with the and emoticons. I'm speaking from the experience of my adopted DD and other adopted children that I either know or have read about.

Rebecca like you, very sadly, I know of far more adopted children that have unresolved issues than not IYSWIM.