Adopting the Older Child

536 Words3 Pages
Adopting the Older Child Thousands of children in the United States are in need of adoption. There are many families willing to adopt, but families tend to prefer the adoption of an infant over the adoption of an older child. A family who is looking to adopt should adopt an older child. The process of adopting an older child is fairly quick. There are not enough willing families to make up for the numerous amount of older children who need to be adopted. The process was simplified in hopes that more families would show interest. Whereas adoptions of toddlers and infants may take up to two years to complete everything, the adoption of an older child will be a much shorter experience. Another reason adopting an older child can be quick is that the parental rights of an older child’s birth parents have been removed by the time he is put up for adoption. Not having to worry about the birth parents parental rights allows the adoption process to be much smoother due to the fact that the case will not have to go through the court system for as long as an adoption of a young child. Adopting an older child allows the family to achieve more information about the child before adoption. Some of the information that will be evident is the older child’s interests, abilities, and personality. This knowledge is helpful to the adopting parents by allowing them to discern which child will feel the most comfortable in the family. The availability of the adoptee’s medical history is another way an adopting family will have information about an older child. With this information, the adopting family will know how to better prepare for the needs of the newest member of the family. The family will have the ability to know if they will be able to adequately provide for the child by knowing before adoption if the child has any special needs or behavior problems. Adopting an older
Open Document