For adoptive families, the option of adoption is an ample alternative. The numbers speak for themselves: over six million Americans have chosen this option. Adoption can provide a child with the security that they need, and, in turn, provide parents with the children they've always wanted. This decision, however, is not one to be taken lightly. Adoptive families may encounter problems, both financial and emotional, that are not experienced by traditional families.
Potential Problems
Adopted kids may raise tough questions later about their adoption and their birth parents. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for adopted children to idealize their birth parents, especially when they are angry at their adoptive parents. They may make hurtful statements about who their “real” parents are. The adoption process is itself costly. But there are no adoption problems that the prepared parent cannot overcome.
Planning the Process
It is good for prospective adoptive families to have a clear goal outlined before they begin the process of adoption. Is your goal to give a home to the child who most needs it? Or to adopt a child with a social background similar to your own? Perhaps your goal is simply to obtain any child, in which case the financial cost of the transaction may become the definitive factor for you. It never hurts to clarify your goals by writing them down on paper, but even after you have done this; it's okay to be flexible.
Financial Issues
As alluded to earlier, there may be considerable expense associated with adoption, and this is a factor of the process adoptive families would be wise not to overlook. The expense of adoption varies depending on whether the adoption is domestic or international; also depending on the area of the United States the child is adopted from, whether the child is normal or special needs, and the degree of government aid that is available for adopting parents living in your location and in your circumstances (which you should be sure to look into, as governmental aid may be a great way to subsidize many of the adoption costs). What you actually pay to adopt may vary from practically nothing to about fifty thousand dollars, depending to some degree on attorney fees, agency fees, travel costs, and the costs of processing paperwork.
Adoption is a wonderful option to consider, of course for those who can't have children, but even for those who can. It will provide a couple with a child to love, and it will provide a previously homeless child with caring parents. Adopting a child is a big responsibility. This point cannot be stressed enough. If you are adopting an older child, or a special needs child, you may want to invest in some pre-adoption counseling in order to make the child's integration into your family go more smoothly. Many adoption agencies provide such services at no cost for the pre-adoptive family. But although you may face many challenges along the way, adoption will prove well worth the expense and stress for the prepared parent who truly cares about the needs of the child.
By Danielle Spanner