Adoption

Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the birth parents. Adoption results in the severing of the parental responsibilities and rights of the biological parents and the placing of those responsibilities and rights onto the adoptive parents. After the finalization of an adoption, there is little or no legal difference between biological and adopted children.

Issues surrounding adoption

The number of children available for adoption inside Western nations has dropped considerably in recent years, partly because of the legalization of abortions, partly because of the increased acceptance of single parenthood. When a mother (or both parents) chooses to place the child with adoptive parents, the process of separation is difficult for all parties.

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It has been argued that children adopted through international adoptions are best served when adoptive families commit to integrating the child's birth nation cultures, traditions, stories, languages and relationships. Some countries now require adoptive parents to keep the birth names of their adoptive children, and many adoptive parents choose to do this as it makes sense in helping their child develop a strong sense of self.

Related Topics:
International adoption - Cultures - Traditions - Stories - Languages - Relationships - Sense of self

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Another issue for prospective adoptive parents to be aware of is reactive attachment disorder (RAD). Many children, especially those beyond infancy in system care (e.g. foster, orphanage), domestic or foreign, develop this disorder due to the loss of the initial primary caregiver.

Related Topics:
Reactive attachment disorder - Primary caregiver

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It is often assumed that adopting babies at a very young age (1-2 months) bears no trauma for the child, because most have no recollection of their own birth, a baby would be a 'blank canvas' and the adoption process no different than being raised by the natural parents. However, many adoptees have reported that they were made to feel - consciously or not - as if they should forever 'be grateful' to have been 'chosen'.

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Some adoptees claim harm from the aura of secrecy and mixed messages surrounding closed adoptionhttp://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/articles-archives/ohio-ea.htmhttp://www.bastards.org/activism/hague-resolution.html. Common platitudes contradict what a child experiences and 'knows'. For instance, parents say "you're special", but the child becomes aware that "special" is either not accurate or not a compliment: people are not motivated to adopt by any perception that adopted children are preferable to biological children (a problem made worse when such platitudes are used to shut down unwanted lines of questioning). Children are routinely told that "your mother gave you to us because she loved you", yet the child must become aware that the parents, the culture, and the law all assume that the birth parent does not ever want to see her child ever again, and in fact the rationale given for closing adoption records is to protect the birth mother from the child. http://www.americanadoptioncongress.org/articles-archives/legislation-samuels.htm These sorts of issues can have a negative impact on the child, as "special" comes to resemble a negatively-charged euphemism, or as they suspect their biological mother really didn't love them at all, while at the same time they experience an erosion of trust in those who appear to be lying to them. Adoptees may not feel free to discuss their own issues honestly, for fear of being ungrateful, hurting their adoptive parents' feelings, raising subjects they sense are taboo (such as the adoptive parents' true reasons for adopting, especially if this involves infertility) or incurring rejection.

Related Topics:
Secrecy - Closed adoption - Culture - Euphemism - Trust - Taboo

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Having an identity and personal history shrouded in secrecy may harm the ability to form a positive sense of identity. Family concerns regarding genealogy can be a source of confusion and pain.http://adoptiontruth.bravehost.com/http://www.bastards.org/activism/support.htm.

Related Topics:
Identity - Genealogy

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