Most adults face the question from inquisitive relatives or friends regarding when, if ever, they intend to have children. Society expects that healthy adults propagate the species. It is Darwinism at its finest but some adults are faced with a conundrum when it comes to biologically reproducing a child from their own loins.

In adoption we are offered many choices of what type of child we would like to adopt. We have no choices with our biological children. In adoption, an older child is usually classified as age 2 or older...no longer a baby. What are some advantages to adopting an older child? * You can learn about their interests, their abilities and what type of personality they have. *

You have more of a history on illnesses, skills, developmental milestones, etc. that can be evaluated by a specialist or doctor. * You can match a child similar to you in looks and/or personality type. * Certain disorders like Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effects cannot be diagnosed in babies, but can be in older children. * Older children can do things on their own and are less demanding than a baby. They can use the bathroom, get dressed, play alone, and more. * Older children can interact and play with you right from the start. * They have some memories of their earlier life, giving you some insight to their personality.

The second domestic option is to adopt a child from a foster family and waiting for a permanent home. Usually these children are older, ranging from grade school age up to adolescence. Some of these children have special needs - whether it be emotional, mental and or including physical disabilities. These are often called 'waiting children' and are treated as special cases which are handled by both public and the private adoption agencies. They have entities called adoption exchanges so that a suitable match can be found between the child and the parents. If a child has special needs, adoption subsidies are often available for the parents to help with the costs of caring for the special needs child.

Be prepared to face the challenges. No doubt the feeling of adopting a child of your own is great; it is not always a bed of roses. You may not notice it but a child can sometime be very sensitive to recognize the fact that you are not his or her biological parents especially when it comes to discipline. You may also start to see the difficulties in comforting the child and indeed, without that kind of love and patient, you may lose all hopes. Remember to constantly remind the child that you love him or her and cuddle him or her whenever possible.

There are also other minor aspects that the social workers would want to find out, such as your religion, the safety aspect of your neighbourhood, as well as your daily routine. No doubts, some of these questions might sound embarrassing and intruding but bear in mind that this is to ensure that the child is placed into a suitable family that will love and protect him/her in future.

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