Adopting a child is a very big event in your life, one of the happiest
ones. You are bringing home a child. It may seem that with love and
affection, there will never be a problem post-adoption, it is good to seek
post-adoption support for the well-being of the new member in your family. In
the due course of life, families face a number of issues. It might be an
identity development crisis, grief or attachment issues in adopted children.
With post-adoption support, it is easy to maintain a healthy child-parent
relationship.
Let us discuss four reasons why families should opt for post-adoption support.
- Identity
development
Many adopted
children at some point of time go through an identity development crisis
irrespective of their age. This is often more complex for children who have
been adopted at an older age, teenagers. Sometimes even in toddler adoption. As
they grow up, sometimes they feel a number of questions bothering them. If they
are different by culture or race from their adoptive parents, this is more
prevalent. They often question the differences with their parents in
appearance, culture or otherwise. Addressing in the right way is important or
else these can lead to serious problems with time. The fact about their
adoption can make them question their identity and the existence of their birth
parents. It is necessary to seek post-adoption support to help the child go
through these phases without letting any of it seriously damage their emotions
or beliefs.
- Grief
Kids put up for
adoption, even as infants go through feelings of loss and grief from separation
at some point in life. As they come to terms with their adoption, they often
find themselves questioning, why he/she was put up for adoption. They grieve.
They try to battle the feeling of abandonment and struggle to overcome the
impact the adoption in their life. Such feelings are not always stable and can
come and go in different stages of life. For the very same reason, children may
need post-adoption support to help them come to terms with such negative
feelings and to understand how the adoption has a positive impact on their
lives.
- Attachment
Children experience
a sense of loss when they separate from their birth parents. They suffer from
a severe break from
attachment. There are children who had tough times like abuse, lack of care
and thus lack the constant sense of trust and attachment. These children often
find it extremely difficult to trust and adjust to a new adoptive family even
if the family provides utmost love and care. They fail to connect or balance
their life with the new family. Post-adoption support can help them battle this
and ensure a better relationship building between the children and parents.
- Birth
family connections
Children at some
point seek out their birth parents and get inquisitive about the same. It can
be extremely overwhelming for them and can be emotionally disturbing if they
are unprepared for it. Post-adoption support can help through this process in a
comfortable way and in a constructive way.
There are certain other sensitive issues like eating disorders or health issues that come
along with adoption and need post-adoption support.
