Gotcha or Metcha?

I just found a new term while surfing the Internet yesterday, “Metcha.” Many people don’t like the word “Gotcha” that is very popular, especially in international adoptions. For those new to adoption, “Gotcha” is used to describe the day that adoptive parent’s first meet or finalize the adoption of their new child. Now, most adoptive parents don’t mean any disrespect or intend the word to be demeaning, but I wanted to know what was being said about the word. I went through my stack of magazines as I knew I had recently seen an article on this topic. Karen Moline’s piece, Get Rid of “Gotcha” appeared in the February 2006, Adoptive Families magazine. In this article she states, “The word smacks of acquiring a possession, not welcoming a new person into your life.” So I wondered what the adoption community would think of the word “Metcha.” It’s cute sounding and doesn’t seem to disrespect the adoptee. Take this quick poll then leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Gotcha is OK, I think people are overreacting.

Metcha is still cute and not disrespectful.

I think something more formal, like "Adoption Day" is better.

I don't have an opinion - I'm fine with either word or term.

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Photo: In the playroom at the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou Guangdong Province with Sydney on "Gotcha Day".