Adoption vs. Foster Parenting
Adoption vs. Foster Parenting
When I had cable TV, I used to watch a show on the Learning Channel, called "An Adoption Story". The show followed the story of a different couple each time, as they adopted a child. It was beautiful to see a childless couple be able to adopt a child of their own. The love and joy was the same as if they had given birth to the child. Adoption is truly a blessing, both for the childless couples, and for the birth mother searching for a loving home for her baby.
I always wondered what it would be like to adopt a child or provide a foster home for a few underprivileged children. I have always had a soft spot for children and I thought that by doing something so small for someone else could be so rewarding in the end but then after hearing all the horror stories of adopted and foster children, it makes me wonder if either one is such a good choice. Not just the emotional and physical abuse that they suffer at the hands of others, but what they have to endure their whole life growing up thinking that no one wants them or they aren 't good enough to be adopted. I would never want my child to have to endure this type of turmoil but for some the option isn 't really and option. Foster parenting is the temporary care of a child in crisis. Generally, the children have been taken away from their birth parents due to abuse, neglect, or other reasons. Financial support for foster parents is offered in all 50 states (Wilson-Buterbaugh 24). You must be 21 years old, and have pre-placement training, as well as a stable income. In some cases, foster parenting can lead to adoption. There are two very unfortunate misperceptions about foster parenting: One is that it is somehow inferior to adoption, and the other is that there is only one kind of meaningful foster care: long-term. Foster parenting and adoption serve different functions. Fostering requires special qualities. It is not an alternative for people who aren 't "good enough" to adopt. In
When I had cable TV, I used to watch a show on the Learning Channel, called "An Adoption Story". The show followed the story of a different couple each time, as they adopted a child. It was beautiful to see a childless couple be able to adopt a child of their own. The love and joy was the same as if they had given birth to the child. Adoption is truly a blessing, both for the childless couples, and for the birth mother searching for a loving home for her baby.
I always wondered what it would be like to adopt a child or provide a foster home for a few underprivileged children. I have always had a soft spot for children and I thought that by doing something so small for someone else could be so rewarding in the end but then after hearing all the horror stories of adopted and foster children, it makes me wonder if either one is such a good choice. Not just the emotional and physical abuse that they suffer at the hands of others, but what they have to endure their whole life growing up thinking that no one wants them or they aren 't good enough to be adopted. I would never want my child to have to endure this type of turmoil but for some the option isn 't really and option. Foster parenting is the temporary care of a child in crisis. Generally, the children have been taken away from their birth parents due to abuse, neglect, or other reasons. Financial support for foster parents is offered in all 50 states (Wilson-Buterbaugh 24). You must be 21 years old, and have pre-placement training, as well as a stable income. In some cases, foster parenting can lead to adoption. There are two very unfortunate misperceptions about foster parenting: One is that it is somehow inferior to adoption, and the other is that there is only one kind of meaningful foster care: long-term. Foster parenting and adoption serve different functions. Fostering requires special qualities. It is not an alternative for people who aren 't "good enough" to adopt. In