Life Is Like Riding A Bicycle

He begins by giving a detailed explanation of how foster and adopted children’s unique problems make it difficult for them to create new significant relationships. As a consequence of abuse or neglect they have not been given the opportunity to form a meaningful and secure attachment

Many adoptees feel out of place, they struggle finding a place to settle and when they do they often times feel as though they need to work to prove their worthiness. As an adoptive shield grows he as long The begins to question. He question why his birth parents didn 't want him and why he wasn 't good enough for them. He may begin to wonder why he act and looks the way he does. Being an adoptee can cause crippling anxiety, in the case of Lesli Johnson, " I went to therapy for the first time when I was 6 years old because I had begun to suffer from sleep issues and crippling separation anxiety from my mom." ( Johnson ). An adopted child has the right to know their birth parents; so that they can have some sense of self worth and identity, they can learn something of their past, and find acceptance in the way things are.

The adoptive parents might realize that they aren’t ready to be parents and that leaves the child once again feeling rejected and unwanted. In a article it explains what they think the adoptive child should know, “Children need to know their adoption story. They need to learn that they were not in any way the cause or the reason for their parents ' relinquishing them. Some questions that teens wonder: Why did they give me away? Was there something wrong with me? Did they give me away because they did drugs or abused me? What does that say about me? Why couldn 't they work things out and taken care of me? Even with shows today like Teen Moms and Secret Life of the American Teenager, they are reminded that many young and struggling parents figure out a way to make it work to keep their baby, so why couldn 't their parents do the same as they see on TV? This may lead to further issues of feeling rejected and unlovable.” (The… 2). Adoption can also cause a feeling of loss that is unlike other losses like death, divorce, and any others. Dr. David M. Brodzinsky and Dr. Marshall D. Schechter said, “The loss for the adoptee is unlike other losses we have come to expect in a lifetime, such as death and divorce. Adoption is more pervasive, less socially recognized, and more profound." (Brodzinsky… 3).

Foster Care and Adoption are the most multi-faceted areas of child welfare. Foster care consists of placing children outside of the custody of their parents or legal guardians. This out-of-home placement can be temporary or long-term. Adoption on the other hand, consists of the legal and permanent process that establishes a parent/child relationship between individuals not related biologically (Downs, Moore, & McFadden, 2009). These two areas of child welfare are constantly evolving and the decisions made on a child’s behalf can affect many areas of their biological, spiritual, social, and emotional wellbeing.

Adoptive Families are special; they have a desire to grow their families by reaching out to children that need homes. These families face many unique challenges, but also receive many rewards, associated with the decision to adopt. These challenges continue for many families, through the process of adoption, legal finalization, and for many years post-adoption. The challenges are different in many ways from those faced by biological parents. Adoptive parents not only face the normal challenges faced from raising a child, but also the psychological issues of the child/ren adopted. Some children placed for adoption have social, psychological, or physical problems that many adoptive families may not be able to address. Previous research has shown an association between post adoption services and successful adoptive placements. “Post adoption services often respond to the effects that separation, loss, and trauma can have on children and youth who have been adopted. They can facilitate adjustment processes; promote child, youth, and family well-being; and support family preservation” (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012). It is because of these issues, and many others, that placement agency must consider when providing wrap around services for families.

When I was about 7 I found out that I was adopted. When I found out I was on the playground and my classmates was teasing me about it. I never told my parents because I figured the little kids were lying. One day my family and I were doing some spring cleaning and I found my adoption papers. At that point I started to question my God because I could not understand why my real mommy and daddy did not want me. I cried myself to sleep each and every night. As a little girl I often wondered what I did to deserve to be given up. I questioned why all the other kids got to grow up with their real family and I did not.

Not many children who are put in closed adoptions get to know who they are and their family history. Closed adoption children do not get to know any of their historical background, and this sometimes gives children self-esteem issues (“Adoption Emotional Issues”). They can also deal with loss and grief issues at times because they do not have their biological parents around to help raise them. It is not until the age of eighteen for the child to legally find their biological parents on their

A fifth source that will convey the psychological effects that open adoption has on the adopted child is the book, Psychological issues in adoption written by David M. Brodzinsky and Jesus Palacious. This source will give the reader insight on the effects than an open adoption has on the child that was adopted. This source will allow the reader to see real testimonies of children that were adopted through an open adoption, and will also allow the reader to better understand open adoption from the child’s point of

The authors talk about their research of what has mostly affected the parties of adoption and how even the adoptive parents can struggle to feel like the child belongs to them.

Giving a child to another family to raise can be traumatic. Grief, loss, anger, are common emotions of mothers who give their children up for adoption. However, studies show that birth mothers with open adoptions fair better than those with closed adoptions. One study looked at unresolved grief among birth mothers. They found that, “… birth mothers who had contact with the adoptive family experienced less unresolved grief than did those with no contact.” (Grotevant) Consistent contact appears to be important because the same study later found that, “greatest unresolved grief was among birth mothers who had early contact that stopped.” (Grotevant) Another study found that birth mother thought they were “better people with better lives” after they used an open adoption as a solution to a surprise pregnancy.

Mark comes home one day to see both of his parents sitting at the table staring at him. A sense of suspicion creeps into his mind. His dad sternly requests Mark to sit down. At that moment, Mark’s parents inform him that he is adopted. As Mark recollects the event in his mind years later, that was the point where his life changed forever. Children around the world experience the life changing event and nothing prepared them for it, but it can be avoided through open adoption. The subject of adoption continues to be a problematic topic, but for the betterment of the people involved, open adoption brings the child a sense of wholeness, more information on the child’s background, and lessens the grief of the birth mother.

Adoption is an amazing process and it is strongly encouraged in our country. However, adoptees face several psychological issues, including grief. The biological mother and child have a very strong bond and, when broken, it leaves the child with many unresolved issues. When the baby is in the fetal stage, the mother is the whole world for the baby and completely supports the fetus. After the baby is born, maintaining that connection is needed for the infant to feel a sense of well-being and wholeness. Following an adoption, the infant often feels helpless, empty, hopeless, and alone. This is because the baby is missing something which is

There are common ordeals and situations that can trouble a family emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Adoption is one situation a family must encounter when a child is born without a proper system of support to sustain life after birth. The causes for a family to make a heartfelt decision to place a child for adoption can have dramatic effects on the birth parents, adoptive parents, and child (Adoptee), even if the decision is meant for the best.

They have self-satisfaction and identity development problems more than their peers. An identity problem is an effect that teenagers develop once they know they’ve been adopted. They do not have a strong sense of self and struggle with identity issues; that also leads to depression, anxiety, and other psychological health problems. Children in semi-open adoptions often wonder what their real families look like, where they live and how they act. They begin to become curious about their biological family and wonder what it would be like to meet their family members and other siblings they may have. In the other hand, during open adoptions children are given a chance to know their birth parents and form some kind of relationship with them and receive information that they might not have known in the past. Feelings of regret may come along with their identity issues. The children may feel as though they are doing something wrong behind their adopted parents back. They feel betrayal towards them for simply being curious of their biological family. In many cases the emotions are confusing and difficult to deal with. They also face difficult times when questions begin to arise about being an adopted child in the family. People outside your family will become curious if the child does not physically look like the parents. That is when at times adopted children become sad and annoyed at the same time. Adoption parents should quickly

I grew up in a loving and somewhat sheltered environment. My parents made my adoption seem like a grand fairytale, and they were my happy ending. To them, adoption made me more special than the average kid, causing me to never think twice about my beginnings. I was the miracle child who brought joy to everyone I met. As a child, people would