Do you know this?

There are approximately 18000 parents registered with CARA, while the number of children in the Government's adoption pool is less 1800.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

The Best Place to Live

When a family adopts internationally and the child is obviously from another country, you are going to stand out. I know there are many things we can do to help our children feel like they fit in with the rest of society, for example living in a multi-cultural area, but I also wonder what would be more in the child’s best interest.

Would it be better for the child to live in the country that their adoptive family lives in, with only them being the ones who have a different shade of skin or to have the adoptive family live in the country that the child was adopted from and have the parents and maybe some other children with a different shade of skin? Either way the family will stand out . Here in the U.S there may be other families similar to theirs but in the child’s first country that would be rare to find. Also to take into consideration would be if you have biological children and the effect it would have on them, the tables would be turned for them as they first were for the child who was adopted.

I know it is not plausible for most adoptive families to pick up and move to the country of their child’s origin, but I know of a few instances where the family loves the country and people so much that they want to be there and can, or they may want to give back for the huge blessing they have received.

If you know of someone who did this it would be interesting to hear how it went. If you have comments or opinions on how this would/could affect the adoptive child/family please do share in the comments section.

3 comments:

Kristi W. said...

This is always a big debate between my husband and I. :) Both of us would love to pick up and move to India, but aren't sure if it is the best for all family members. I guess we will just have to wait for God to tell us.

Lynda said...

I know what you mean Kristi, were both in the same boat.

Jeff and Leslie said...

While I agree with the sentiment; I would love to be able move to, or spend extensive time in India with Manu; I think the trauma to the larger family, including extended relatives and friends, would outweigh any benefits to the adopted child. Unless one is of unlimited means and willing to travel frequently, or can afford to bring their entire family along, many more relationships will suffer. I think that a strong family unit, with support from extended family and friends, is the most important facet in an adopted child's well being.

It is nice to think about though :-)