The teenage years is that time in one’s life where a child starts to look at the world and themselves with a different perspective. These are the years when they become moody and experience many different emotions. They worry that they won’t understand and be able to explain whom they are deep down inside. Parents typically just say that these are the “teenage years.” During this stage of one’s life, hormones are raging and uncontrollable. Also at this stage, teenagers are trying to figure out their status in the family, desire more freedom and, in most cases, this leads to conflict. When a child doesn’t have a family, these emotions, hormones and worries are amplified by the fact that they have no one they can count on and talk to.
It’s no secret that most potential adoptive parents want young children so that they can raise the child according to their family’s rules and how to respect and listen to parents from a young age. We know from experience that most potential parents look at children five years and younger. But to say that older children cannot find a family is not true. All families are different and choose a child based on their connection and what they think suits their family best.
The teenage years can be split into two periods – from 12 -14 and 15 -18 years old. During these years, children tend to hide their emotions and desires from their parents. Moreover, there are actually a number of advantages of adopting an older child.
First of all, children at this age have already learned quite a bit in life and they can somewhat take care of themselves. Secondly, at this age parents don’t need to make any drastic changes to their work schedule to change diapers or give 24/7 care to a toddler. Thirdly, a teenage is at the age when you can have a more meaningful and in-depth conversation.
It is also important to understand the capabilities of an adoptive family – at which age is a couple ready to raise a baby or a teenager? If it’s a young couple, they will most likely raise a child. But on the other hand, if it’s an older couple one needs to consider the reality of raising a baby and maybe adopting a teenager is a better idea.
While it’s nice to read about teenage adoption, we’re sure you would also like to hear about real-life success stories. We would like to tell you about Larisa, whom we have written about before. Larisa decided to adopt a 17 year old girl thanks to a profile uploaded to our website. The woman wanted a child that could not only be a part of the family, but also a friend. Larisa thinks she is very lucky to have met such a wonderful young lady and the decision to adopt a teenager.
Larisa tells us that her daughter is “smart, kind, and caring.” In response to a question about being hesitant to adopt a teenager, Larisa responded with the following words “Every adult worries about bringing a child home, but with each child you can find the key to happiness. The most important thing to remember is love and rules.”
This story is especially touching and important for us. After publishing her profile, the young lady turned 18 and we were most certain that she would not find a family. We are very happy that we were wrong! This is just one of many positive examples that one shouldn’t stop believing in because miracles happen when you least expect them!
Every adoption is a unique case with unique circumstances. A person may know what they want in life, but in a split second they feel something different when they look into the eyes of a child and they realize that age doesn’t matter.
We noticed that most parents realize they are ready to adopt a teenager when they have already developed their maternal or paternal instinct. At this point, one realizes that age is not a barrier to bringing a child into the family. Even though teenagers can be stubbornly independent, they are after all still children that do not know a world outside of the orphanage’s walls.
Unfortunately, the majority of orphans at this age are not accustomed to basic rules of living with a family and how to deal with life. As a result, many orphans when they turn 18 face a tragic fate – unwanted pregnancy, suicide and alcohol and drug addictions. Teenagers need help and they need to be told the correct path in life. From past experience we have noticed that within two to three years most adopted children feel the full benefits of love, the comforts of having a place to call “home” and a support group.
If you have every thought about bringing a child into your home, disregard all the negative stereotypes, prejudices and open your heart.
If you would like to look at the profiles or other children needing a home, please click here.
