An adoptee has a request – Looking back on Cabbage Patch Kids as an out-of-the-fog adopted adult hits me different than it did when I was a kid. I’m interested to hear what your thoughts are on CPKs — then and now.

blogger’s response – I remember them but I don’t think I ever thought about the adoption part even though both of my parents were adoptees.

There were over 50 comments. I’ll only share a few –

I never really connected the dolls with adoption issues per se, even though I knew there were adoption certificates but as a child I just legit thought they were just babies grown on a little cabbage farm, so they didn’t have parents. another one replied –  I’m with you there! I still remember the day I found out they didn’t grow on a baby cabbage farm. While it’s an amusing memory now, 7/8 yr old me didn’t think so. But wait !! Actually, they do. There is a cabbage patch farm you can go visit, where they are born from the mother cabbage! It’s kinda cool.

From the website story about how LINK>“it began in a cabbage patch . . .” – The Bunnybee led the way and Xavier followed. Bunnybees were flying all around sprinkling magic dust from the crystals onto the cabbages. Rows and rows of cabbages were everywhere. But, there was something different about them. Xavier blinked his eyes and squinted at what he thought was movement among the cabbage leaves. Xavier moved closer and soon could see that there were lots of small kids and babies sleeping and playing among the cabbages.

blogger’s note – found this “Pack the ‘Kids™ up for a trip to the new BabyLand General® Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia, voted one of the Travel Channel’s Top Ten Toylands. Beautifully situated in the North Georgia Mountains, this Southern Style home filled with Cabbage Patch Kids will capture the imagination of your entire family.”

Maybe I won’t include any more adoptee perspectives because I also found this sad story related to the dolls.

The dolls were originally invented by a Kentucky artist named Martha Nelson Thomas. Martha first started making them in the early 70s, and would “adopt” them out to family and friends. The dolls eventually caught the eye of Xavier Roberts, a Georgia man who ran a gift shop. After Martha denied him permission to sell her dolls, he stole the design and began making his own versions.

Xavier’s dolls, which each had his signature printed on the ass, became wildly successful over the next few years. Their popularity reached its peak in 1983, when shortages of the dolls over the Christmas period led to mini-riots in toy stores across the country. Through all this, Martha didn’t make a single penny from her creation.

In this video, we travel to Kentucky to meet with friends and family of Martha, and hear how the Cabbage Patch craze affected her life. We also traveled to Maryland, to meet Pat and Joe Prosey, who believe they have the largest private collection of Cabbage Patch Kids on the planet.

Maybe just say NO to a Cabbage Patch Doll for your own living adoptee.