There are so many children and babies in the foster care system, who stick their eyes at the door in wait for their forever family to take them home. Yes, it is true, each of us wants them to find a home and live with a family that is stable and loves them wholly, but not everyone is lucky enough to adopt a child.
Adoption is the final result, steps that lead to it are often long, tedious and pricey. There are times when prospective parents don’t know or have little idea from where to start or what to do. And even if they are aware and go through the whole process, in the end, babies and infants are given preferences over the older ones. Still, there are families who seek to adopt an older child and we decided to lament them through the way.
Why need to consider?
Amongst many reasons to adopt an older child, one is they are ‘homeless’ and don’t have a permanent place to live in. They’re shifted from one foster home to another, and sometimes this happens multiple times a year. This simply implies that they have enough understanding of what’s happening around them and have no clue what a stable environment feels like, which can have a deep impact on their mental health.
The Child has an opinion
When the adoption of an infant or babies is considered, they have no opinion to present. On the other hand, older children have a word to say. There are a number of states in the USA which seek the child’s consent to be adopted by the expected family. While the age of the adoptee varies by state, 14 is considered the suitable age to get the assent of the child about how they feel joining the family they are expected to. This is not considered negative, rather children feel they’re a part of the due process and considered important to get approval from. It comforts them that they are cordially choosing to spend their lives with a family.
In child’s best interest
Children adopted at an older age are shown to do better in school and adult life in comparison to those left to age out of foster care. There are low chances of them being homeless, caught in addiction or getting in trouble with the law.
Even though adopting an older child may not be an easy development, it could prove to be the best thing that a family does for a child and themselves.
