Adopting
Advantages of Adopting an Older child
Babies are no doubt the most adorable creatures in the world but there are people who simply can't stand the fussiness of babies. Are you a childless couple who's decided to adopt a child but doesn't want an infant? Adopting an older child is an alternative route in adoption for prospective parents who'd prefer to raise an older child rather than go through the entire process of cleaning milk bottles and changing diapers.
Older child adoption refers generally to children aged two and over at the time of adoption. Although most people assume that the younger the child is the better, one cannot discount the advantages of adopting older children.
Why adopt an older child?
When adopting an older child, you can better ask for the child's interests, abilities, and learn his personalities better than you can when you adopt a baby. Older children who are put up for adoption have been screened for childhood illnesses so you get the child's full medical history as evaluated by medical specialists and doctors. This way, you have a choice of accepting a referral or not.
The hardest part in being a parent of an adopted child is when your traits do not match. When adopting an older child, you can find a child who shares similar interests and personality as yours.
Most children who are put up for adoption were born out of wedlock or unplanned pregnancy. Their birthmothers became pregnant unprepared and were probably in emotional turmoil during the entire length of pregnancy. They may have resorted to drinking alcohol or taking medications in trying to abort the pregnancy.
A mother's physical and emotional state directly affects the fetus in her womb. There are tests that diagnose certain disorders, such as Fetal Alcohol Effect and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome but these cannot be diagnosed in infants. When adopting an older child, you will know if the child has any of the two conditions and, hence, prepare countermeasures to alleviate its effects.
If both the adoptive parents are working, it is wiser to adopt older children because they demand less of your time and effort. Older children can usually fend for themselves in terms of personal hygiene although they may need some guidance with that. Older children can also immediately join you in some of your favorite pastimes such as gardening, baking, shopping, etc.
Adopting older children also allows prospective parents to take a peek into their past lives and help synthesize them into beautiful memories even though they had to leave the past and start a new life with you.
Like any other decisions, adopting an older child can also have disadvantages which you can look into. Just as life has its seasons, you can cherish both the wonderful and bad times with you new child.
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