Dear Wannabe Mum,
It seems like you aren’t sure you want to take the step to adopt a child. Adoption is a big step and can impact your life as well as another life in many ways. You might also want to consider alternatives to adoption at this point. There are lots of alternatives to adopting a child:
*Having your own child.
*Being a foster parent.
*Being a big brother or big sister in the Big Brothers/Sisters of America organization or some other such mentoring program.
* Helping out at local hospitals, orphanages, schools and other organizations that support children but are short handed.
Why would you choose an alternative?
*If you’re not sure you can handle the day in and day out commitment of adopting a child, alternatives like foster parenting and being a big brother or sister to a child, or volunteering with children are excellent alternatives.
*If you can’t afford to adopt or keep a child, the above alternatives are also great.
*It’s a good way to test the waters and see if adopting a child is what you really want to do — success in one of the alternative fields will indicate success in an adoption.
Choosing an alternative to adopting may be a very smart decision. Adopting a child is very difficult and comes with special challenges. What are the pros and cons?
*The pros of adopting a child are pretty easy:
- taking care of a child and giving them a home they may otherwise not have
- spending your life or part of it being an adoptive parent opens your heart
*The cons are a little harder to see sometimes:
- in most cases of adoption you don’t know the child’s medical and genetic history. You may be taking on more than you think you are.
- adopting a child presents special challenges because the child may feel rejected by the birth mother and father — sounds like a simple problem, but it’s not. It’s a lifelong issue for many people.
- adopted children may have trouble blending with biological children of the same family in to which they’re adopted.
