Who’s Your Favorite TV Mom?: Mother’s From the Past (Prior to 2000)
We are looking for your Favorite TV Mother. We already have one character in the finals as DiDi Pickles from Rugrats, narrowly defeated Marge Simpson from the Simpsons. Today you will be voting for your favorite TV Mother from the past (show aired prior to 2000).
To vote for your favorite, first scroll this post to watch video clips of each character and find out more information, then head to the Adoption STAR Facebook page to place your vote.
Tomorrow we will be voting on Favorite Modern TV Mom (show aired since 2000), then Thursday, the winners of the first three votes will compete for the title of Favorite TV Mom, which will be announced Friday, May 11.
Clair Huxtable – Cosby Show
Stats: Mother to Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy. Wife to Cliff.
Why she’s on the list: Clair had a great professional life as a lawyer, and was made partner during the series, but also had the time to take care of her family. According to Wikipedia, a 2006 poll by Opinion Research Company, named Clair America’s “Favorite TV Mom.” Plus those Cosby Intros were just fantastic!
Estelle Costanza – Seinfeld
Stats: Mother to George. Wife to Frank
Why she’s on the list: Estelle Costanza was the stereotypical overbearing mother, and with a son like George and a husband like Frank, it’s no wonder there was so much yelling in the Costanza household.
Carol Brady – The Brady Bunch
Stats: Mother to Marsha, Jan and Cindy. Step-mother to Greg, Peter and Bobby. Wife to Mike.
Why she’s on the list: Carol Brady was a stay at home mom for her three daughters, and instantly took on the mothering role of Mike Brady’s three children. Mike and Carol managed to build a tight family nucleus out of a difficult situation, putting Carol Brady on this list.
Peggy Bundy – Married With Children
Stats: Mother to Kelly and Bud. Wife to Al.
Why She’s on the List: Peggy Bundy managed to keep her sanity despite living with Al, Kelly and Bud. For this reason alone she deserves to be on this list.
June Cleaver – Leave it to Beaver
Stats: Mother to Wally and Beaver. Wife to Ward.
Why she’s on the list: Shown in the video below, June Cleaver had a way of getting through to Beaver that other characters on the show often couldn’t do.
Now that you’ve seen all of the characters, head over to the Adoption STAR Facebook page to place your vote!
Tags: Favorite classic TV mother, Leave it to Beaver, Married with Children, Seinfeld, The Brady Bunch, The Cosby Show, TV's best mother character, Vote for favorite TV Mother, Who's Your Favorite TV Mother?
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Who’s Your Favorite TV Mom: Cartoons
With Mother’s Day and Birth Mother’s Day less than one week away, we want to celebrate all mom’s! Starting today we will be running a poll on Facebook to find out your “favorite TV Mom.” The three categories are:
– Favorite Cartoon mom
- Favorite TV mom from the past (On a show that aired prior to 2000)
- Favorite modern TV mom (On a show that has aired since 2000)
After the three days of voting, the three day winners will go up against each other on Thursday, May 10, with the “Favorite TV Mom” being announced on Friday, May 11.
Today’s category is Favorite Cartoon Moms. Scroll down for more information and to watch clips on each character, then go to Adoption STAR’s Facebook page to cast your vote. No prizes will be awarded to winners, this is just for fun…and pride. Will your favorite TV mother take home the championship?
Marge Simpson – The Simpsons
Stats: Mother to Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Wife to Homer.
Why she’s on the list: Marge has a never ending love for her family, despite the fact that her son, Bart, is too busy making prank phone calls and skate boarding to concentrate on school, and she has a husband, Homer, who spends most of his time eating donuts or hanging at the bar. Despite all of this she still manages to have the perfect beehive hairstyle. The Simpsons started airing on the Tracey Ullman Show in 1987, and over 24 years later, all the kids are still living at home.
DiDi Pickles – Rugrats
Stats: Mother to baby Tommy Pickles and newborn Dill Pickles. Wife to Stu Pickles.
Why she’s on the list: DiDi is a loving and caring mother and wife though her son, Tommy, is constantly getting into mischief and her husband, Stu, is busy inventing new products, many of which blow up in the basement. DiDi does a great job of keeping the family in line despite the antics of the rest of the family.
Betty Rubble – The Flintstones
Stats: Mother to Bamm-Bamm (who she and husband Barney adopted.) Wife to Barney
Why she’s on the list: Betty and Barney taught children about adoption in an era where there was not as much information. Was able to keep the house clean and organized as a stay at home mother, while using a pelican for a washing machine and wooly mammoth for a vacum cleaner.
Wilma Flintstone – The Flintstones
Stats: Mother to Pebbles. Wife to Fred.
Why she’s on the list: Can’t do a list of cartoon mothers without Wilma Flintstone. Wilma kept Fred in line, which was no easy task, and still found time to be a great stay at home mom.
Lois Griffin – Family Guy
Stats: Mother to Meg, Chris and Stewie. Wife to Peter.
Why She’s On The List: Lois is the glue that keeps the family together, despite having a baby who is constantly attempting to take over the world.
To vote for your Favorite Cartoon Mother. Please visit the Adoption STAR Facebook page. Check back tomorrow morning to vote on your favorite TV Mother From the Past(Shows that aired prior to 2000)!
Tags: Family Guy, Hospitals that specialize in children who were adopted internationally, Infertility struggles, The Flintstones, The Simpsons, Top TV Mom, When is my baby due
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Adoption STAR on TruTV
This morning (Friday), between 11:35 am and 12:00 pm, Adoption STAR CEO and Founder, Michele Fried, will be interviewed on TruTV’s “In Session.”
The interview will focus on social media and adoption as well as the Tammi Smith court case.
Adoption STAR has written at length about the effects social media and the Internet have had on adoption. The agency’s belief is that whether you are using the Internet to perform an adoption search or are a prospective adoptive parent looking for a match, it is best to move forward only after speaking with your loved ones and an adoption professional.
There are many positive, as well as troubling, aspects of social media and adoption, and an adoption therapist (or Adoption STAR Family Advocate) can work through the process with you, preparing you for the many possible outcomes of an adoption search or online private match.
If you’d like to learn more about the effects that social media has had on child adoption, you can watch Michele on Tru TV between 11:35 and 12 pm, or contact the agency directly by email or phone at 1(866)691-3300.
Tru TV can be found on channel:
74 (Time Warner Buffalo)
43 (Time Warner Rochester)
246 (Direct TV)
You can also search the cable guide on your TV for TruTV in your area.
Tags: Adoption and social media, Internet's effects on social media, The Tammi Smith court case, TruTV, Using Facebook for an adoption search, Using social media to adopt
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Are you Ready to Adopt Transracially?
This blog post was originally published in 2007 by Adoption STAR on a former blog.
Years ago, a client questioned her initial desires to first adopt a biracial child by asking, “If we are open to a part black child and not a full black child, wouldn’t that be just a little hypocritical? My heart wants to say yes, because aren’t we all God’s children, regardless of race?” When she first posed her question to me, rather than share my personal experiences I allowed her to get together with other parents who decided for themselves whether transracial adoption was for them.
One experienced mom was first to offer advice and was right up front: “It’s been said already that African American kids and biracial kids come in all shades and tones. I think I’m more worried that you aren’t aware of that already and aren’t prepared for a dark skinned child. I’m assuming that is the issue. I don’t want to sound too tough on you but if you aren’t ready for an African American infant then maybe you need to rethink adopting a biracial infant. I do believe we are all God’s children but adopting across racial lines isn’t something you should do without some thought.”
Another parent didn’t offer advice but rather spoke about her daughter who is biracial but who is looked upon by outsiders as a black little girl and she stated that she plans to raise her daughter to be a proud black woman.
One mom added that her African American daughter is actually much lighter than a friend’s biracial daughter. She also added that she read that many biracial individuals have issues in terms of which group to fit into.
The last mom to share stated, “I came to the conclusion that adopting an African American baby is no easier or harder that adopting a biracial child. The agency made sure to tell me that you have to be open to raising a child of color, no matter how light or dark the child’s skin may be. Some biracial children are very dark skinned. Some African American children are quite light skinned. When you make the decision to adopt transracially you have to be open to every possibility.”
Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall begin one of their many very telling articles on transracial adoption with these words: Once upon a time, when the White man and the White woman who wanted to be parents first started thinking about adoption, they asked to be considered for a biracial child. “Not a fully African American child,” they clarified. “It wouldn’t be fair.” The story continues with the couple saying their reasoning is because they feel they are being fair to the child. They deny they are hoping for a light skinned child and insist that if their child is biracial rather than Black she will share some common ground with them.
Steinberg and Hall believe that this idea is more common than not in people first considering transracial adoption. They continue by stating, Prospective adoptive parents frequently call on us assuming that they can be considered for a biracial child but not for a single race child who is of a different background from their own… Very few of those same White parents apply the same biracial vs. same-race standards to Latino or Asian children. We think there’s been a massive misunderstanding of what it feels like to be a biracial person in this society. Further, a biracial child who is adopted by White parents grows up having a totally different experience from that of the child who grows up within the birth family, who lives with flesh and blood role models of two different cultures present and contributing daily, one White parent and one Black…Caucasian parents who are tempted to think that their child will share with them (at least half way) in the experience of being White are not listening to the vast majority of multiracial and biracial people who clearly identify as people of color… Since society at large will not distinguish a person who looks African American, Latino or Asian whether they are partly or fully African American, Latino, or Asian, why would a family make this distinction in adopting a child?
Making the decision to adopt transracially is a serious one. It should not be entered “because the wait time appears shorter” or because you “want to adopt a child that needs you.” You are adopting a child because you wish to become a parent or because you wish to parent more children. That’s it. It’s quite simple. If you wish to consider adopting a child outside of your race and culture then it is important to examine why you may be requesting the adoption of a biracial child but not a single-race child of color. It is important to examine your motivations and expectations.
If you are interested in transracial adoption, or in finding out more information, please contact your Adoption STAR family advocate, or you can contact the agency directly by email or toll-free at 1(866)691-3300.
Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Adopt Transracially
1. Am I open to new experiences: people, ideas, activities, travel?
2. Do I enjoy the diversity of other races and cultures?
3. Do I value differences in others and their contributions to my life?
4. Am I flexible and able to make changes in my ideas, friends, activities, and lifestyle?
5. Am I able to see things from another’s perspective even though it’s different from mine?
6. Am I open to close relationships with people of other racial and cultural groups?
7. Do I believe racism exists and understand its destructive power?
8. Am I willing to examine my personal prejudices–either overt or subtle–and replace them with more positive attitudes?
9. Do I believe in nurturing racial identity in children and will make changes in my life to foster this?
10. Am I committed to getting more information to learn how to parent a child of another race?
Tags: Adopting a biracial child, Adopting transracially, Are you ready to adopt transracially?, Questions about transracial adoption
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Creating a Facebook Page for your Adoption Journey
More and more prospective adoptive families are using social media to create a match with an expecting parent. The use of Facebook, Twitter and blog posts can create more awareness of your adoption journey.
Jay and Staci Baird are currently going through the adoption process and have created a Facebook page to let their friends and family know about their progress, and also to increase their chances of being matched with an expecting family.
“The more people that hear about us and hear about our story, the sooner we’ll find the perfect match with a birth mother,” Staci said in an article in the Konxville News.
According to the article, Jay and Staci are also working with an adoption agency that allows them to create an online profile.
Every year more and more people commit more time to the Internet and social media. Recently it was reported that people in the United States spend over seven hours per month on Facebook, and Adoption STAR’s Agency Assisted Private Track Program can help you create awareness of your journey online, much like the Baird’s.
By using the Adoption STAR Private Track program, you will still be profiled for expecting women working with Adoption STAR, but you will also be trained on how to increase your chances of finding an expecting mother on your own. You will be trained by Adoption STAR Family Advocate and Adoption Social Worker, Missy Spatari, as well as E-Marketing Coordinator, Alex Rubin, on how to create a Facebook page and blog as well as how to create online ads on Facebook and Google. You will also receive training on newspaper and magazine ads and setting up a private (800) number for you to be contacted on.
If you are successful in finding a match, the expecting family will become clients of Adoption STAR and will receive counseling and support from Adoption STAR’s Birth Parent Department Supervisor, Sue Shaw. Also, Your Adoption STAR placement fee’s will be cut in half.
Adoption STAR also offers the opportunity to create an online profile. These profiles can be viewed by expecting parents who are learning more about making an adoption plan via the Internet. Many Adoption STAR families have been selected by expecting parents after their profile was seen online.
For more information on Adoption STAR’s Agency Assisted Private Adoption Track, you can email Missy or call the agency toll-free at 1(866)691-3300.
To read the full Knoxville News article, please click here.
Tags: Adopting using social media, Adoption STAR, facebook and adoption, Knoxville News, private adoption, Social Media and Adoption
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Celebrities Adopting Children with Special Needs
Special needs adoption has been in the news lately with model Brooklyn Decker, who is married to tennis pro Andy Roddick, saying that she would like to one day adopt a child with special needs.
According to NBC.com, Decker recently told Flare (a Canadian magazine) that she wants to “adopt a child or baby with an intellectual disability one day.” She went on to say that “unfortunately a lot of kids with intellectual disabilities are given up for adoption when they’re born ’cause it’s a lot for a family.’”
Katherine Heigl and her husband, musician Josh Kelley, recently adopted their second child. Their first daughter, Nalieigh, was adopted from Korea and was born with a heart problem which required surgery. Heigl has said that she always wanted to adopt because her sister, Meg, was also adopted from Korea.
It is nice to see stories such as those of Heigl, Kelley, Decker and other families that are open to adopting children with special needs. Adoption STAR is committed to finding forever families for all children in need, especially those with special needs. To financially assist with the adoptions of children with special needs, Adoption STAR holds an annual fundraiser called “Shining STAR.” All money raised during the Shining STAR event allows the agency to assist families with the costs of adopting a child with special needs.
For more information on Adoption STAR’s special needs adoption program, you can contact the agency by email or toll-free at 1(866)691-3300.
Tags: Brooklyn Decker adoption, Celebrities adopting children with special needs, Celebrity adoption, Katherine Heigl adoption, Special needs adoption
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Who’s Your Favorite TV Mother?
Who’s your all-time favorite mother TV character? It’s a question that many have argued and debated about with friends and family, and with Mother’s Day and Birth Mother’s Day coming up next weekend, Adoption STAR is looking to find the answer once and for all.
Starting next Monday (May 7) we will hold a Facebook vote for your Favorite TV Mom. We will have three “heats” one on Monday, one Tuesday and one Wednesday. The three “winners” will move onto the finals where TV’s best mom will be crowned.
The three categories will be “Cartoon Moms”, “Modern Moms (from shows 2000-present)” and “Moms from the past (From shows prior to 2000).”
This will be the opportunity to see who was the bigger fan favorite: Carol Brady or Claire Huxtable? Wilma Flintstone or Betty Rubble?
We will have blog posts each day with video clips of each contestant and then we will rely on all of our Facebook followers for the results.
We hope this will be a fun for everyone as we get ready for Birth Mother’s Day and Mother’s Day.
The Adoption STAR staff has come up with a lot of great television mothers, but if you’d like to list any suggestions for us to consider, please do so in the comments.
Tags: Brady Bunch, Brady Bunch theme song, Top TV Mother's of all time, Who's Your Favorite TV Mother?
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Adoption STAR Orientation Session in Buffalo
Each month Adoption STAR holds an orientation session for prospective adoptive parents in Buffalo, NY. These free sessions allow attendees to have any of their adoption questions answered by experienced professionals. The agency also holds orientation sessions throughout New York State and Ohio. For a list of all future orientations and other Adoption STAR events, please visit the calendar of events.
This months Adoption STAR Buffalo orientation will take place on Sunday, May 6, from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm at the agencies main office (47 Plaza Dr. Williamsville, NY 14221.)
The adoption orientation session provides a great start to your adoption journey. Learn more about Adoption STAR’s domestic and international adoption programs and hear from an adoptive family that has received a placement through Adoption STAR.
For more information and/or to RSVP for the May 6th orientation session, please call Adoption STAR at (716)639-3900 or email the agency. If you are unable to attend this months orientation session, but would like to learn more about Adoption STAR, please call the agency to speak with our Client Relationship Manager, Zack Fried, who will answer many questions and help you begin your adoption journey.
Tags: Adoption agency in Buffalo, Adoption education in Buffalo, Adoption orientation session in Buffalo, Domestic adoption agency Buffalo, Infant adoption agency Buffalo, International adoption agency Buffalo
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Michaela DePrince Adoption Journey: From Orphan in Sierra Leone to World Class Ballerina
Michaela DePrince’s adoption journey was front and center this week on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. DePrince, 17 years old, became an orphan when both of her parents passed away during the Sierra Leone Civil War when she was three years old.
One year later DePrince and another young girl from Sierra Leone were adopted by an American family. DePrince said for a while she thought it was just a dream, and it took her a long to realize she was “being accepted” by her new family.
In the video below, DePrince’s father said they enrolled her in dance classes at a young age and she began to show a natural talent. She is now a student at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theater.
The video of Michaela’s adoption journey and her dance performance to Natasha Bedingfield’s “Wild Horses” can be seen below.
Tags: Adoption STAR, Ballet performer on Dancing With The Stars, Michaela DePrince adoption journey
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Adoption STAR Annual Staff Training Dinner
Yesterday (Wednesday, April 25) Adoption STAR held its annual staff training dinner at the University at Buffalo Center for Tomorrow. This yearly event allows for Adoption STAR staff and contract workers throughout New York and Ohio to come together and connect. The focus of this years training was the home study process.
In order to get everyone in the right frame of mind we broke up into teams and performed skits based on the homestudy visit (pictured below.)
Adoption STAR Family advocates Missy Spatari and Shannon Whalen, along with agency Founder and CEO, Michele Fried, led the group in discussions on many home study topics, and we look forward to sharing this information in future Adoption STAR blog posts. Should you have any questions on the home study process, please feel free to contact your family advocate, or call the agency directly at (716)639-3900.
Tags: Adoption STAR, Annual staff dinner, Home study training
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