Child Adoption, Reasons for Adopting

To the typical conventional family with 2.3 children, the idea of adoption is foreign and unimaginable. However, there are numerous reasons why adoption takes place today. Many children not properly taken care of by their biological parents are given up for adoption voluntarily by the parents so that the child or children may be assured a better future. An unwed mother may choose to give her child up for adoption for what she considers the “good of the child”. This may be the mother’s choice or a choice brought on by pressure from her parents or by society. There are still countries today that consider a mother giving birth out of wedlock scandalous and unacceptable behavior. The unwed mother is pressured to give her child up in some cultures. Many unwed mothers also give up a child born because of rape. There are also parents that are looking for a specific gender and if they don’t get that gender, the child is given up for adoption. This is more prevalent in other countries or cultures than here in the United States.

There are also many adoptions that are not voluntary. If there is proof that a child is being abused or neglected by the parents, the child (or children) may be removed from the home pending investigation by the appropriate authorities. The abuse or neglect may be because of drug or alcohol abuse or stress arising from unemployment. In such cases, the parents are required to seek counseling and try to correct the issues responsible. If after such time the problems have not been solved, the parental rights of the child will be terminated and the child put up for adoption.

Another reason for adoption is if a child is an orphan with no parents or family. This may happen due to desertion by the biological parents or death of the parents. Many orphans were available for adoption during the wartime. In some countries if the children were of mixed descent and the jurisdiction felt it appropriate, the parental rights were terminated and the children were put up for adoption. This was a common practice in Australia from the years 1900 through 1969 with the Australian Aboriginal children also known as “the stolen generation”. The government still has control involving adoptions and parental rights in many countries including but not limited to unwed mothers. Despite that fact that governments have since become more liberal with their regulations, many of these past laws regarding children and adoption are an issue today.

Still a very common reason for adopting is the inability for one or both parents to produce a child naturally due to infertility. Even thought there are other alternatives available such as sperm donors or surrogate mothers, many parents do not wish to go that route. If one of the parents cannot produce, they prefer to have a child “unknown” to both of them. In cases of parents remarrying, many stepparents adopt the stepchild to make them feel more secure in the family. This is, of course, only possible with the natural parent giving up parental rights or with the death of the natural parent.

Some couples that are fertile and able to produce their own children will still choose to adopt a child. They reasons vary from not wanting to add to what they consider an “already overpopulated world with too many unwanted children in it” to just wanting to help an orphan needing a home and parents. The possibility of passing on an inheritable disease to their offspring is another reason for parents adopting rather than producing their own child. There are also career-oriented mothers that want children but do not wish to take the time to go through the pregnancy and delivery of a child so they adopt.

Whereas in past years, single parents were rare, now many single parents are adopting. They may wish to raise a child but not wish to be married. Single adults that wish to become parents but lack a partner will often adopt a child. This is also true with same-sex couples. There are so many reasons why people adopt children, it would be almost impossible to say what the main reason is.

Infants are more in demand than older children are. Most adoptive parents also wish to adopt children the same race that they are. This makes older children and children of different races harder to place so there are agencies that make a special effort to place these children with good adoptive parents.

Similar entries

• Adoption Language, Vocabulary Used in Adoptions
• Adoption Statistics
• Adoption Issues, Problems, Criticism
• Chinese adoption laws and procedures
• Adoption Costs, the Cost of Adopting
• Consequences of International Adoption
• Guatemalan Adoptions: Frequently Asked Questions
• Introduction to Adoption
• Kazakhstan Adoption Process
• Introduction to the Adoption Process
• Guatemala Adoptions: Defining child and orphan
• Process of International Adoptions
• Adopting From Guatemala: DHS/ICE Review of Birth Mother Information and DNA Testing
• Gay-Lesbian Adoptions, Adopting by Homosexual Couples
• Introduction to International Adoption