Adoption, Meeting the Challenges and Discovering the Joys
Are you considering adopting a child? Then you face a decision that is not only emotional but also irreversible.
Undertaking an adoption means that your life-not just the life of the child-will never be the same again.
Adoptive parents rightly expect many pleasures, but they must also be prepared for many problems and disappointments.
Each case presents the challenge of constructing or rebuilding a young life with love.
Remember that you are going to be taking a child that someone else has created and making that child your own.
You will want examine your feelings regarding the fact that someone else has the child and then gave the child up.
If you don't care where a child came from, and if all you want to do is give a child a good home, you should consider becoming an adoptive or foster parent.
If you are thinking about becoming a single parent, adoption is never something that you should decide to do completely on your own, because it is a lifetime commitment.
The adoption process is hard, very expensive and time consuming.
You will want to ask everyone that you know (family, friends, loved ones, clergy) about how they feel about it and if they will provide you with support, if not physically at least emotionally.
You are going to find things about your adoptive child that may end up being a mystery.
Where possible uncover as much family history from the adoption agency as possible, such as the family health history and the circumstances surrounding why the parents gave the child up.
Sadly, some adopted children have serious problems.
Why? The environment for a child is all-important, however, inherited traits are a major factor.
Are you aware of the mother's health when she was carrying her baby? Drugs drink, and tobacco, we now know, can affect an unborn child.
A thorough check of both parents and even grandparents if at all possible, before undertaking adoption, is a wise action to take.
Sometimes all the information that you want is not available to you.
This is where you need to decide if you can live your life like that.
If you can live with or without the background information, adopting a child may be an option for you.
Additionally, be prepared to face realistically the problems and challenges that may arise.
Children are not always grateful for what their parents-adoptive or biological-do for them, even in the best of circumstances.
On the other hand, opening your home-and your heart-to a child that needs parents can be a positive, enriching experience.
When describing how they feel about their adopted sons and daughters, the parents of such children may well call to mind the words of the psalmist: "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.
"-Psalm 127:3, Today's English Version.
Undertaking an adoption means that your life-not just the life of the child-will never be the same again.
Adoptive parents rightly expect many pleasures, but they must also be prepared for many problems and disappointments.
Each case presents the challenge of constructing or rebuilding a young life with love.
Remember that you are going to be taking a child that someone else has created and making that child your own.
You will want examine your feelings regarding the fact that someone else has the child and then gave the child up.
If you don't care where a child came from, and if all you want to do is give a child a good home, you should consider becoming an adoptive or foster parent.
If you are thinking about becoming a single parent, adoption is never something that you should decide to do completely on your own, because it is a lifetime commitment.
The adoption process is hard, very expensive and time consuming.
You will want to ask everyone that you know (family, friends, loved ones, clergy) about how they feel about it and if they will provide you with support, if not physically at least emotionally.
You are going to find things about your adoptive child that may end up being a mystery.
Where possible uncover as much family history from the adoption agency as possible, such as the family health history and the circumstances surrounding why the parents gave the child up.
Sadly, some adopted children have serious problems.
Why? The environment for a child is all-important, however, inherited traits are a major factor.
Are you aware of the mother's health when she was carrying her baby? Drugs drink, and tobacco, we now know, can affect an unborn child.
A thorough check of both parents and even grandparents if at all possible, before undertaking adoption, is a wise action to take.
Sometimes all the information that you want is not available to you.
This is where you need to decide if you can live your life like that.
If you can live with or without the background information, adopting a child may be an option for you.
Additionally, be prepared to face realistically the problems and challenges that may arise.
Children are not always grateful for what their parents-adoptive or biological-do for them, even in the best of circumstances.
On the other hand, opening your home-and your heart-to a child that needs parents can be a positive, enriching experience.
When describing how they feel about their adopted sons and daughters, the parents of such children may well call to mind the words of the psalmist: "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.
"-Psalm 127:3, Today's English Version.
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