So you are thinking of adopting a child? Congratulations.
Adopting a child is not an easy task, however. It’s not like you would find a mother in your neighborhood thinking, “Oh, I should give my baby up for adoption!” Even if you did, both must undergo certain processes before the adoption takes place.
Meanwhile, consider these suggestions before finalizing those adoption papers.
Prepare the Child’s Room
This is not a sign of obsession when you prepare the room for your adopted baby before you get confirmation. If you already have an available room in the house for a future family member, then by all means, make it the best room.
People nowadays aren’t so concerned with color and furniture differentiations between boys and girls, but if you’re not picky over the gender, consider greens, browns, or even off-white to make it more neutral.
When adopting a baby, make sure the toys, reading material, music, and shows you watch are appropriate and that whatever furniture you get is baby-safe.
Get Advice
To adopt a child that’s about four to eight months old (or even older), that means they have lived a life (however brief) before knowing you. Seek advice from those who have had time to care for the child and find out their habits, their temperament, their response to various stimuli and the most effective way of teaching and disciplining them.
Talk to other families and how they went through adopting their child, as it is different from conceiving and birthing a baby. Give yourselves enough time to decide on whether it would be better to adopt at a specific age or another, or even from a specific part of the city, where certain cultures may have already left their mark.
Learn to Wait
Adopting a baby can take anywhere from two weeks to a year, depending on various situations concerning those involved. When a child meets your requirements with all the papers done and processed, then you would get a call from social services or the adoption agency very quickly.
However, certain cases may take longer, such as the difficulty of finding a child that meets your needs or if you’re adopting from another country. There may be more requirements to fill and you would have to be absolutely certain that you can handle a child that’s probably more responsive to a different culture and language altogether.
Adopting a baby can be a very emotional and enlightening experience. This option scares many would-be parents because they don’t feel like they’re real parents. On the contrary, parenthood is not the privilege of those who can conceive a child, but a responsibility for those who can foster the growth of the child in a loving and supportive home.