The 14th – 20th of October is National Adoption Week!

Are you interested in adoption? Adopted yourself? Or perhaps you’re an adoptive parent and are looking for ways to raise awareness. National Adoption Week is a fantastic opportunity to find information, resources and support.

What is National Adoption Week?

National Adoption Week is a campaign aimed at finding homes for children who are in the care system. The focus of the 2019 campaign is the ‘priority children’; children from background that may make it harder for them to find a loving forever home or perhaps make their wait longer. These include siblings, minority ethnic backgrounds, older children and children with health problems. Every single child deserves a loving, welcoming home no matter what, and this campaign is aimed at encouraging potential adopters to come forward and consider these children too.

This year’s awareness week is being promoted by representatives from ‘statutory and voluntary adoption agencies’ together with CVAA, Adoption UK, CoramBAAF and First4Adoption – there is a huge amount of offical support behind this campaign, and we hope that our article helps to drive even more support to the heart of where it is needed.

Why Adopt?

Fundamentally, adopting gives a child a fresh start in a loving home. Children need love and nurturing to grow and thrive, and each child deserves the very best; could you provide this for another child?

If you feel that you have the available resources, both physical and emotional, to raise another child, you could potentially change a child’s entire life by welcoming him or her into your family.

How Can I Adopt?

If you’re interested in becoming an adoptive parent, you can apply through your local council, or go through an approved agency.

First4Adoption advises all prospective adoptive parents ask themselves the following…

Can you provide love, time and commitment to a child?
Can you empathise with a child who may never have experienced the security of feeling safe and loved?
Can you be patient and flexible, to supportively adapt to whatever unique challenges may come from the child’s circumstances?
Do you have the energy and health to provide a long-term family for a child?

This video interview of Liz, an adoption agency social worker, gives fabulous insight into the parent and the prerequisites;

Read More From Our Adopting Guest Blogger…

Our guest blogger Esther (anonymous) has shared her experience as an adoptive mother with us; her insight is so emotive and has certainly educated us about adoption from the perspective of prospective parents.

“When we read the words that described you we felt a tinge of love tangled in with the uncertainty of knowing that it’s not absolutely certain that you’re ours. Then we read more & more about your personality & joy & playfulness along with all that you’d endured so far & we felt like you were here ready to be ours. Slowly we saw your photos & felt a little more love for this human we now knew all about but had never met. The slow burn. We then got to meet your carer who filled in all the bits about you & then we had the wait.”

Read more here.

Love from Katie & Team BBY. Xx