Welcome
Hello and welcome to the first edition of We Made a Wish online adoption magazine. It’s purpose is to promote openness around adoption by sharing articles about all aspects of the process.
National Adoption week
This week is National Adoption week which is an annual event to raise awareness about adoption in the UK. Each year, the event has a theme. However, the overall aim is to raise awareness around adoption.
The event this year runs from the 14th to the 20th October. The focus is on “priority” children who have been waiting the longest to find their forever family. These tend to be older children, sibling groups or have disabilities.
Across the country, adoption agencies will be holding information events during the week to recruit potential adopters for these children. I live in the North East of England. There are 72 children waiting to be adopted in the region, with only 26 approved adopters (source : First4Adoption). That obviously means a lot more adopters are needed to give forever homes to those children waiting.
Spotlight on Adopt North East
Our first “spotlight on” feature of an adoption agency is Adopt North East. They are seeking to recruit adopters who would like to provide a forever home for sibling groups.
Adoption isn’t for the faint hearted, whatever the age of child. But it can be such a rewarding experience. Adopting our daughters has been the most incredible, challenging and rewarding thing I’ve ever done. Apart from being able to have more sleep, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Adoption stories
The stories featured this week are about two sibling groups and a five year old girl. Emma Sutton, the author of one of the stories, wrote this brilliant post about adopting siblings. It isn’t easy, but then parenting, whether you’re a birth, step or adoptive parent, can be challenging.
The sad reality is that children of all ages are waiting to be adopted. However, children who are older, tend to be waiting the longest to find their forever family. This can be for a variety of reasons, but usually relates to the experiences they’ve had in the early years.
Adopting an older child
Often the main challenge adopters face with older children is restoring their trust in adults. They may have experienced neglect or abuse in their birth family, or they may have moved to numerous placements. This can lead to a lack of trust as the children fear that new adults will disappear from their lives just as others have.
This 2017 article written by Dr Tani Shenfield highlights some of the things to look out for in adopted children.
First4Adoption
If you’re considering adoption, First4Adoption is a good place to start. It’s the national information service for adoption in England. Their website provides you with all the information you need to get started.
From finding adoption agencies in your area, to explaining the assessment, it has all the information you need to start your journey. If you’re in the North East of England, have a look at this article from Adopt North East. They have information events coming up this week.
