This Is Us.
Have you seen it yet?
One of the hottest new shows this fall are the hour long episodes of This Is Us. A story told in both present day and in flashbacks, This Is Us traces the history of three siblings, two of them twins, one of them adopted. As the story reveals itself more and more each week, the three siblings attempt to reconcile with the childhood that they both love and regret.
Perhaps more than any other public service announcement or plea from an adoption agency, This Is Us tells the story of both the joy of families finding adopted children to love, and children who needed a loving home. The struggle depicted in this prime time television show is intense, but so is the love.
Have You Considered Talking to an Adoption Agency?
Adopted children provide hope for for parents who are unable to conceive children themselves. Adoption agencies can also, however, provide an opportunity for a family that already has children to share their love with others. Whether an adoption agency is working through a church within the country, or through adoption centers that help children from around the world, these connections can be life changing. And while some families consider adoption for years, other families find an immediate way to consider the adoption process by first fostering children who need immediate emergency care.
Once a family has been approved by an adoption agency, the waiting begins. And just when you think that you could not possibly wait any longer, the miracle happens. On a cold rainy night, perhaps with only a two hour notice, the moment arrives. With all of their worldly belongings being nothing more that a stuffed animal an officer provides and the clothes the young child is wearing, you can become a parent. Some babies arrive completely healthy; others with a cast on a tiny arm that carries a story. In may cases, however, the enduring smile on the infant or child’s face indicates that while there is darkness in the world, goodness can always find a way to shine through.
As many as 153 million orphans around have lost one parent. Another 17.9 million orphans have lost both parents. In both cases these infants and young children are living in orphanages or on the streets. Many lack the care and attention required for healthy development, putting these children at risk for disease, malnutrition, and death. Adoptive families, however, can provide love, security, and a future.
Consider these statistics about adoptions:
- 90% of adopted children ages five and older have positive feelings about their adoption.
- 75% of adopted children between between the time they are born and turn five years old are read to or sang to every day. This percentage compares with only half of non-adopted children who receive the same attention from their biological parents.
- 38% of adoptions are private domestic adoptions.
- 37% of adoptions are Foster Care adoptions.
- 25% of adoptions are international adoptions.
- 70.2% of people who adopt are married families.
- 22.7% of people who adopt are single females.
- 1.6% of people who adopt are unmarried couples.
- 5.5% of people who adopt are single males.
- 45% of adopted children lived with their birth family before being adopted.
- 41% of adopted children are adopted by their relatives.
- 49% all adopted children are male.
- 86% of foster families adopted to provide a child with a permanent home.
- 61% of foster families adopted to extend their families.
- 39% of foster families adopted because they were infertile.
- 24% of foster families wanted to adopt a sibling for a child.
- 87% of adopted children parents indicate that they would “definitely” make the same decision to adopt knowing what they know now about their child.
- 81% of parent and child relationships in adopted households are “very warm and close.”
- 42% of parent and child relationships in adopted households are “better than ever expected.”
- 53% of parents cope “very well” with the demands of parenting.
Are you an adopted child? Do you appreciate the live that your adoptive family gave to you? Have you considered adopting. Families across the country have a variety of reasons that they turn to adoption. Children who are living in orphanages and foster care settings deserve to have the love and stability or a family in a permanent home.
