What are the Effects of Adoption on Children?

When you place your child for adoption with A Child’s Hope, you will secure the best possible future for your child. How? By choosing the perfect family you want to adopt your child, creating a post-adoption contact agreement that lets you be a part of your child’s life, and more.

However, even though you have the chance to meet and get to know the family your child will be raised in, you might still have some questions about adoption. Will their life as an adopted child be any different than being raised in a “traditional” family? Is it better or worse?

It’s normal to have questions about your child’s future, and your adoption counselor at A Child’s Hope can describe in more detail what your child’s life will be like.

One of the biggest indicators of your child’s future is your first conversation with prospective adoptive parents, where you can ask them any questions you have and make sure this family is perfect for your child.

What an Adoptee’s Life is Like

Before you choose an adoptive family for your baby, you will view their adoptive family profile and meet them in person with your adoption counselor. A prospective adoptive family can help you understand exactly what your child’s life will be like with them, including any traditional family trips they take, their plans for your child’s education and extracurricular activities, what their family lifestyle is like and more. Whatever you want to know about your child’s future, they will be happy to help you visualize your child’s life as an adoptee in their family.

To ensure a positive family environment for all our adoptees, at A Child’s Hope, we educate all prospective adoptive families in detail about how to be the best parents to an adopted child. This includes supporting an open or semi-open adoption, preserving their child’s identity as an adoptee and immersing them in environments where adoption and/or multicultural families are common. The most crucial element, though, is being honest about their adoption story. You’ll be reassured to know that 97 percent of adoptees over the age of 5 know about their adoption — and your child will be one of them.

In many ways, an adoptee’s life is no different than if they were to grow up in a biological family. They will have parents that love and support them, all the opportunities they could ever want, and a healthy childhood where their adoption story is celebrated — not emphasized as something that makes them “different.”

Statistics About Adopted Children

Beyond the individualized circumstances of being raised in a particular adoptive family, there are also some common positive advantages that adopted children experience. Because adoptive parents have been waiting so long to have a child, they don’t take their position for granted; they give their child every opportunity possible. Recent studies have shown that:

85 percent of adopted children are in excellent or very good health
Adopted children are less likely to live in households below the poverty threshold
Adopted children are more likely to be read to, sung to, or told stories to every day as a young child than non-adopted children
Adopted children are more likely to participate in extracurricular activities
More than half of adopted children excel in reading, language arts and math at school

These are only a few of the positive statistics reported on the happiness and success of adopted children. While individual situations will vary, you can be reassured in knowing that there is a positive and happy future awaiting your baby should you choose to place them for adoption.

Remember, you can play an integral role in your baby’s future by being in charge of every aspect of your adoption plan. You can choose which family you want to raise your child, what kind of relationship you want with them and your baby as they grow up and more. While adoption is a challenging process at times, your adoption counselor at A Child’s Hope will always be there to provide support and help you make decisions that are right for you and your child — helping you create a future that’s in the best interest of both you both.

To learn more about the adoption process in North Carolina and to get started today, please call our Pregnancy Hotline: (919) 971-4396, or Text: Pregnant to (919) 971-4396, or email ach@achildshope.com.

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