A man has been heavily criticised for changing the name of his adopted son after his biological child was born. The father claimed he and his wife adopted a Vietnamese child after having issues with fertility and legally named the child August, which is the dad's title and is part of a family tradition
They then welcomed a "miracle baby" seven years later and decided the newborn should have the family name instead. So the parents reverted the adopted child's moniker back to Thien, which was what he was originally called, reports the Mirror.
Their first son was still known as Thien on a day-to-day basis, but had August, a name that goes back five generations in his family, as his official title. But despite Thien seemingly not having an issue with losing the traditional name, when word got out in the neighbourhood, the family became "social pariahs".
Taking to Reddit to explain his decision-making, the dad said: "My name is August [Surname Removed] V. My name goes back five generations now and it was always my plan to make my son August [Surname Removed] VI.
"My wife and I were horrified to find out I was essentially firing blanks and was told I would essentially never be able to father kids - heartbreaking. We started the adoption process right away looking in mostly foreign countries so it would go faster and we were able to adopt a baby boy from Vietnam.
"His first name was Thien but my wife agreed to change his name to August [Surname Removed] VI. We also agreed we would let nature take its course because miracles can happen. he father explained that while their adopted child was officially known as August, he was called Thien on a day-to-day basis by the family, at school and at church.
"Seven years later, a miracle did happen and my wife turned up unexpectedly pregnant. We have a healthy, beautiful, amazing biological son who we love just as much as we love Thien. I decided, with my wife's agreement, that because we now have a bio son, it is better to give the firstborn bio son the family name. We have gone through the procedures to get Thien's name legally changed and our bio son has August [Surname Removed] VI on his birth certificate."
The dad says that while in the process of changing the name, his adopted son was more concerned with playing with the judge's gavel at the court and doesn't "understand or care" about the decision.
He added: "We didn't even really tell anyone but we had to tell the school. Somehow word got out from a busy body at the school and made it back to Thien's soccer team. We're now essentially social pariahs and the subject of massive gossip - accusations of not loving Thien enough.
"We've heard it all through closed-mouth, hushed tones. It's gotten so bad we are considering moving Thien to a new team but his three best friends play on that team and he would be heartbroken."
Despite the dad trying to share his side of the story, most Reddit users appeared to be of a similar mind to the family's neighbours. People commented saying they were "horrified" at the decision and accused the father of not believing his adopted child was his "real son".
One user bluntly responded in the comments saying: "If you have fertility problems go to a therapist before adoption. Kids aren't placeholders."
Another added: "As the mother of adopted children I'm horrified at so many things about this man and his post. All children are gifts to us whether we give birth to them or are blessed to marry their parent or foster and/or adopt.
"They're not sofa pillows we change out for each season. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this man's thinking. These two people shouldn't be allowed to have any children in my personal opinion."
Finally, another stated: "You want to change your sons legal name, so his brother 'the true blood son' can take it instead? By even considering this, you make it very clear he never was a 'real' son to you, just the adopted one! Because something better came along?"
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