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Mar 16 2007 06:07 AM ET
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Angelina Jolie's first moments with her new son Pax

When Angelina Jolie was introduced to her new son (whom she re-named Pax Thien) for the first time, things didn’t exactly go smoothly. The 3-year-old Vietnamese boy started crying when Angelina knelt down to speak to him at Thursday morning’s welcoming ceremony at Tam Binh Orphanage in Ho Chi Minh, according to the orphanage director, Mr. Nguyen Van Trung.Angelina understood completely. "She told me she understands – that it’s normal for all young children to be scared," Trung said. Angelina took the little Pax aside, in a separate room from the ceremony for the him to calm down and feel comfortable. Trung insisted everything was fine from there on out:

Later he was okay, very cheerful and happy, he even played with his new brother Maddox.

In addition to meeting his new mother, Pax also had to overcome an initial sense of shock. He was not told by the people at the orphanage that he was going to be adopted that day. His caregiver Ms. Bui Thi Thanh Tuyen said,

We did not say anything to him, afraid we might put pressure on him and more frightened, we just told him that we are taking him out. You are going to play outside – play with a mother and father.

Still, the orphanage staff prepared him as best they could: They packed a small box with two sets of clothes for him to take, and his favorite toys, especially a little plastic piano. They also taught him a few phrases of English: "How are you?" and "What’s your name?"Tuyen said she’ll miss the boy but adds that any day a child is adopted is a special day at the orphanage:

We are glad that he’s adopted. He’s very clever and I hope he has a good life, we just hope he will return to visit us one day.

Source: people.com

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I am shocked that the orphanage didn’t tell him anything in advance. Is that standard operating procedure for adopting older children? I am no child psychologist but at 3.5 yrs old – wouldn’t a little preparation go a long way towards easing the transition? Talk about trust issues…he’s just plucked from the only home he knows with no preparation at all. Sure, you don’t want to make a huge deal out of it in advance and scare him more than necessary – but come on, help to prepare him a bit so its not quite so traumatic and sudden.

- madison on

From trauma to assault. No wonder Angie is hostile to the media. She carefully navigates the feelings of a sensitive toddler just to have it come udone as she and Pax have to then endure outrageous pappaRATzi behaviour. It is amazing to me that there is no law against such things.

- neil on

I believe he knew he was going to get a family soon but they just didnt tell him it would happen that day…

He is a very lucky little boy.

- nell on

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