Family is one of the most beautiful concepts that exists for us as living beings. The connections and emotional bonds that we develop with the other members of our families can’t quite be compared to the other relationships in our lives. While we may not always get along with our family members, those relationships that we’ve had from the beginning are the ones that we often fall back on in times of need. Not all families are the same, however. While many people talk of how you “can’t choose who you are related to,” there are some families who do just that. Adopting is one way of expanding a family in a unique way, and is very often a positive life-changing event for both the adopted family member and the family that he or she is adopted into.
How adoption centers can help make your family its best
There are many reasons families might think about adoption as a means of growing what they have already begun. Around 86% of foster families wanted to provide a young one with a permanent home. One popular reason for adopting, according to 61% of those adopting, wanted to extend their families. Another 39% adopted a child or children as an alternative after discovering that they were infertile. And 24% of adopting parents wanted their child to have a sibling. Adopting families are also as varied as their reasons for seeking out an adoption center in the first place. While the majority — a hefty 70.2% — of those who adopt are married couples, another 22.7% of adopting mothers are single females. Of the rest of the adopting families, 1.6% are unmarried couples, and 5.5% are single males. Finding the right adoption center, that will work with you and your needs, is crucial in finding the family member or members who are waiting to join you.
Making a difference in the lives of everyone involved
Chances are, if you are looking into adopting, you are hoping to add to your family’s lives in a significantly meaningful way. Perhaps there is just something missing from your family that you know the right child is meant to fill, just as he or she will fill the home with laughter and joy. But there are two sides to everything, and think for a moment about the child joining the new family. Who knows what difficulties, trauma, or tragedy that child has already been through, and on top of it all to be without a family, being chosen for adoption means the world to that young child. More than 90% of children 5 years old and older feel positively about their adoption. And it makes sense that many children would feel overwhelmingly good about it.
Putting some faces on statistics
Across the globe, there are almost 18 million orphans living on the streets or in orphanages. These neglected children are without the care and attention that they need in order to properly develop in a healthy way, and many are at risk for malnutrition, disease and even death. In the United States alone, there are almost 400,000 kids in the foster care system, just over 100,000 of which are available and eligible for adoption. However almost 32% of those children end up waiting more than three years before finding their forever family. Imagine what that does to a child. And imagine what walking into a home knowing that you have a new mother and father does for a child. The positive benefits for both the child and the family that he or she is joining are endless and bountiful.
Growing a family by adopting a new member is an experience that not everyone will know or experience, but for those who do, it means the world. If adoption is something that you and your family have been considering, head to an adoption center to start the process.
