Nonfiction Critical Analysis - "When Children Are Traded"

NF Critical Analysis

 “When Children Are Traded”

 

            The article “When Children Are Traded,” by Nicholas D. Kristof, debates on whether children should be allowed to be given away on the internet. Kristof explains that the major downside of adoption of kids is that they don't receive the proper service that a child requires. "Kids don’t get the protection they need from predators, nor the nutrition they need, nor the books and reading programs they need for mental nutrition... Children don’t have votes and are voiceless, so America’s most vulnerable become its most neglected," he declared. The overall main idea of the text is that children should not be given away in order to protect them from being negatively treated. One fact that enhanced my comprehension of the article is that up to three-fourths of all adoptions take place successfully. This means that 25% of giveaways don't work out and children end up being swapped multiple times. This helped me understand why Kristof disapproves the trading of children. Another detail that provided more understanding was when Kristof explains the ads that give away children. One of them were "Born in October of 2000 — this handsome boy, ‘Rick,’ was placed from India a year ago and is obedient and eager to please." He describes how these ads are from people who desperately want to get rid of their children who were most likely already adopted and giving away children is no different than giving away a used car. In addition, Kristof includes that most of the adopted children are ages from six through fourteen which helped me conclude that the children that are being given away are still learning. Moreover, these details support the main idea because they all relate back the author's claim, which is adopted children should be protected and receive proper treatment.
              Furthermore, Nicholas Kristof wants the reader to think that the swapping of children is negatively influencing them and the issue is only getting worse. One technique Kristof uses to make the reader think that is by using sorrowful quotes. For instance, when he talks about an Asian girl diagnosed with polio he says, "according to court records, the woman, as a form of punishment, once ordered her to dig a hole in the backyard — for her own grave.'you die here and no one will know,' the Chinese girl quoted the woman as saying. 'No one will find you.'" The Chinese girl in this situation was adopted by the short-tempered woman and was not being educated which shows that she was being negatively treated. The author includes another quote to make the reader feel pitiful. “I am totally ashamed to say it, but we do truly hate this boy... I would have given [him] away to a serial killer, I was so desperate," a woman in Nebraska wrote about her 11-year-old adoptive son from Guatemala. There was another incident that Kristof included where he makes the reader feel sorrowful. A pre-teen Russian female was swapped three times in six months and ended up being raped by a boy in one of the homes and then got urinated on by him. This girl had to become accustomed to three new ways of life within half of a year and was given sexual difficulty. This is how Kristof sways the readers' minds.
              In conclusion, the text is mainly about how children don't get the protection they need from adoptive parents. I learned that I have an extremely successful life compared to other adopted children my age. I used to think that adopted children were no different from normal children because they still grew up with parents and possibly had siblings like other families. Kristof changed my way of thinking completely; I will start looking out for ads on giving away children and keep in mind that I'm lucky because I believe children should not be swapped, especially more than once. Moreover, I want to know more about this issue, like where do the adopted children go when abuse is spotted? Do they stay in foster care?