Considering An Older Child Adoption?

Orphanages and foster homes are filled with older children. Generally these kids are considered special needs, just due to their age. There are special things to consider when adopting an older child because they are grown and remember where they have come from and past experiences. They also may have developed a mistrust of adults and authority figures, making it harder to parent them. Below are a few articles to look over when considering older child adoption. 

Every birth mother has mixed emotions when placing her child for adoption. However, she knows it is the best option for her baby and herself. This poem by Leslie Gallimore explains the emotions that run through a birth mothers’ mind prior to making her final decision.

ReMoved, Zoe’s story

Every child deserves a happy and caring home which is why our Foster Care system strives to provide the best homes for children. A foster parent must be able to understand the life that their foster children have before coming into their home. They have a large amount of grief associated with every transition. They are breaking bonds that they have established in such short amount of times. Where we strive to only place a child in one home, sometimes that is unrealistic for a multitude of reasons. But each home cares about the children and has their best interest at heart. This two part film, ReMoved, shows the life of a young girl, Zoe. She has been in the foster care system and it shows the challenges she faces. Please be sure to share your thoughts in the comments. 

 

Beginnings: How Families Come To Be

Beginnings: How Families Come To Be is written by Virginia Kroll. This book is a great read for your adoptive child. It tells the story of six children who were all experience adoption or the birth of a child in various ways.

• It begins with Ruben who was the first child born to his family.
• Second is Katherine Grace who was adopted from Korea. Her parents did not travel to meet her, but she was brought to the United States. Within the story they are adopting again from South America. They also discuss Katherine Grace’s name change and why the family chose it.
• Mark is being raised by his Uncle after his mother passed away during child birth. His Uncle is a single father and often tells Mark stories of his mother so that Mark can know her.
• Olivia was adopted domestically. Her birth parents were students that could not afford to care for a child. The birth parents decided to place Olivia with a single mother that they have a special bond with. The birth parents helped choose Olivia’s name and continue to have an open adoption.
• Habib was placed domestically. The birth and adoptive family shared a family doctor. The doctor was aware of the situation of the expectant mother and suggested Habib’s parents. This was also completed within the same culture making it unique.
• Nicole was a Foster Child. Nicole is an older child who must use a wheelchair. This made it hard for her to place, but when the right family found her, it was perfect.

Children come into their families in a variety of ways, but what is most important is that they do and they experience all the love, care, and nurturing they need. Some of the children have experienced things adults cannot even begin to believe. But in the right family, in the family that is willing to accept this child into their hearts, that child can thrive.

You can find the book for purchase on Amazon.com.

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Every Child is Priceless

The cost of adoption is very high. It is getting harder and harder for families to afford adoptions and the ones suffering are the children. Families who want to adopt see the financial mountain they are about to tackle and realize they cannot. Adopt Together is a crowd funding website that allows families to reach out to their friends, loved ones, and people in the community to help with the cost of the adoption. Watch the video below to see the reality of the situation and how you can help a child or family:

Open Adoptions is very common in the adoption world today. Families United strives to make sure both parties are happy with the adoption plan. There are varying levels of openness and that depends on both families’ wishes, but adoption professionals strive to create an open dialogue between the families. You do not have to be afraid of the term “open adoption”.