Parenting — Adoption

• Your Expectations About The Emotional Needs Of Your Child

  There are many books that address the dynamics of the child’s attachment and bonding, but few have explored how the lack of a child’s attachment and bonding create feelings in the parents. These feelings can manifest themselves as confusion, anger, rejection, and deep sadness. Many parents believe that if they love enough, their child will reciprocate that love.

• A Chance For A Home

  Home. Family. Backyard cookouts. A table laden with more than we can eat on Thanksgiving day. These things ground us, offer us stability, and give us an environment where we can learn, explore, grow, and even self-actualize. Yet for 210 million children, these basic human needs will never be met because most of these children will come of age in an institution, never knowing a family, never experiencing the warmth, joy and acceptance of a home environment.

• The Adopted Child

  Approximately 120,000 children are adopted each year in the United States. Children with physical, developmental, or emotional handicaps who were once considered unadoptable are now being adopted (“special needs adoptions”). Adoption helps many of these children to grow up in permanent families rather than in foster homes or institutions.