Would you adopt a child?

[SnyderShrugged]

I admire people who foster and adopt more than most people. I think its one of the most honorable things a person can do.

I wish I could say that all foster parents have the best of intentions, but I have witnessed the opposite up close and personal.

i met my wife when she was in a foster home. Those people were horrible. They made the kids buy their own toiletries (even feminine products for the teenage girls) and kept all the "good" food locked in their bedroom.

They readily cashed in the checks though and even "held" onto the kids annual clothing checks in the supposed spirit of "helping them buy the proper clothing". In the end the kids got about 1/3 of the money they needed to clothe themselves each new school year.

Again, not a bash on fostering nor on the millions of awesome foster care providers, just a knock on the few bad apples.

[gbear]

SS,

I've seen a few like them too. I wonder if those situations are more common in a down economy. One of the reasons I have liked the fostercare company we use is they send social workers to see the kids every week. I know some foster parents bristle at the level of interaction/oversite, but the social workers are a huge boon for the families as they often have access or knowledge to share. After reading Hope's Boy, I wonder which is better, an unloving foster home or a group home. I honestly don't know.

[mardi gras skin]

1. It happens. I've seen it happen to a family just recently. Its devastating to the family and it soured several families on adoption. Most people I know are going to international route because they won't risk it. They are open to adoption, but they are not open to sharing a child with the birth parent.

2. Yeah we're the same. I don't look at a parent and think, "That child is so lucky it has you." I think how fortunate parents are to have children. It doesn't matter how the child got there.

3. And that's excellent. That information should be on billboards, doctor's waiting rooms, on the nightly news. The perception of adoption costs need to be cleared up.

4. If all goes well, adoption is but a name. All the people we know who adopted a child through the foster care system expressed a very real fear that the child they were planning to adopt could be taken from them for the period they were going through the adoption. This is a major impediment for adoption.

---------- Post added June-14th-2011 at 08:02 AM ----------

Hey, it wasn't me who suggested that a soul awaiting birth would rather grow up unloved, unwanted, abused, neglected, etc. rather than spending a few more months in Heaven awaiting parents that would want and cherish him/her. :pfft:

Oh, I know. You have this "waiting line" theology you've picked up somewhere that gives you a sense of benevolence in aborting a human fetus.

Weird.

[Btubes18]

I definitely would adopt, but probably an international child. I was fortunate enough to have a sister who was adopted. She is nine months older than my brother and I. When my parents found out they were pregnant with twins, they could have easily stopped the adoption, but they did the right thing.

Adoption is a great route for many families.

[Burgold]

Oh, I know. You have this "waiting line" theology you've picked up somewhere that gives you a sense of benevolence in aborting a human fetus.

Weird.

Just to sidetrack for a moment, is that an unusual image of the babies waiting in heaven for their turn to be delivered. I've heard that story so often I thought it was pretty mainstream?

And no, it's not a sense of being benevolent. I'm mostly just making trouble with this line of resoning. The original thought is somewhat sincere... what kind of life, you know? Then again, since all life is sacred I pretty much agree that any chance is better than none and many do rise from humble or even tragic beginnings to have a most wonderful life.

For what it's worth, I'm not really pro-abortion. I think very few abortions should ever take place. However, I do think, esp. since it's legal, that people ought to have the right to make that decision for themselves. Hopefully, it's a deeply considered,heavily debated one. An abortion isn't as simple as it sounds on the surface. It has many psychological ramifications. There are few more serious decisions that a woman or family can make.

[mardi gras skin]

I'm not trying to be rough on you, Burg. You're right that there are a lot of things to consider in whether or not there should be abortions.