What You Should Know About Adopting A Baby:
Adopting a child is a wonderful, life-changing experience.
Some couples want to help a homeless child find a nurturing home while others have the need to raise a child.
Did you know that there are approximately 650,000 children in out-of-home placement in the United States? About 20 percent are available for adoption – some with special needs. Unfortunately, many adopting parents are unaware of the existing or potential problems an adopted child brings with him or her to their new home.
Being unprepared to raise a special needs or high-risk child unnecessarily drains resources and adds a lot of stress on the family. While most adoptions go well, some do not.
Many children up for adoption have been traumatized by their birth families or foster care families. Too often adoptive parents are told, “All this child needs is love and everything will be fine.” This is not always true.
Every parent, biological or adopted, should know as much as possible about the attachment process – the life-long impact it has on children. It is one of the fundamental processes necessary for survival and care-giving. It’s a process that enhances the safety and security of an infant in getting his or her needs met.
To improve your chances for a successful adoption, you need to be as fully informed and prepared as possible. Read all you can on the subject and ask every question you have. This is a major decision not only for you but also the child you bring home.
Being a parent is one of the most enriching experiences in life. And, though the job is often all-consuming and demanding, it certainly can expand your capacity for love and fun in ways you never imaged.
If adoption is something you are thinking about, contact the family law offices of Holstrom, Block & Parke. While many other areas of family law see the attorney helping in the breakup of a family, adoption allows an attorney to create or expand families.
Our attorneys understand that children and family are what matters most in people’s lives. Contact us today – let us help you expand your family.
