Advertisements
Advertisements
Viewing Single Post
Today, some families adopt when they are in their 50s, and it is totally normal for families to adopt in their 40s. I am a single Mom, and I adopted my daughter, who was 18.5 months old at the time, when I was 51. We are having a terrific time, and I know quite a few families like ours.
Now, saying that, domestic agency adoption doesn't usually work for parents over 45. The reason is that many birthmothers prefer to place with younger parents, and they usually have a "say" in choosing the characteristics of the prospective parents. Many birthmothers have parents and grandparents who bore children at a fairly young age, and, to many, it feels "odd" to select adoptive parents who are the age of their grandparents.
With domestic foster care, it is often hard to adopt a healthy newborn; you often need to be willing to adopt a child with a disability or a achool aged child. As a result, the domestic adoption option that makes the most sense is private adoption, in the states that allow it. You seek out a birthmother on your own, and then use an attorney and a social worker to handle things like the homestudy and finalization.
Private adoption can be very risky, with high potential for a fallthrough. As a result, parents over 45 tend to adopt internationally, not domestically. Some countries allow adoption up to age 55.
My feeling is that if you come from a long lived family, have some energy , and really want to have children, go ahead and adopt. Thirty-two is actually young; some countries, today, won't even let a person apply to adopt until he/she reaches 30. And American women are even having bio children at 40 and beyond.
Sharon