Adoption Tips for First-Time Parents

Chances are if y’all thought early in your life about what it would be like to have a child, you didn’t think about adopting. What you’re about to find out if you’re a first-time parent adopting a little boy or girl is that there is great, unexpected beauty in adopting. To help you breathe in this beauty while keeping your fears at bay, read our adoption tips for first-time parents.

When Adopting Children Past the Baby Phase

Build a Network of Support

When you adopt a child who began their life somewhere else, attached to other people, there are unique challenges to building a connection. To support you during this time and well into the future, get yourself a group of guys and gals that know your struggle. There are excellent organizations and online groups that can give you the insight you need for very specific troubles—or simply a well-spoken word of encouragement when you’re feeling low.

Take the Relationship Slow

Older kids struggle to attach securely to an adoptive parent, but they will in time. Just because you’re rearing to become super close doesn’t mean you should pressure them beyond what they’re comfortable with. Give them space, and make your presence clear without pulverizing their boundaries.

Prepare for Questions

Questions abound during the adoption process, both from outsiders and your adopted child. Be prepared to answer some without feeling the need to have all the answers. Be gracious with people outside your orbit that focus too much on the burden of adoption or ask you incredulously why you did it. Be ready for many to be confused if you’ve adopted a child of a different race or ethnicity. Also, know that your child may ask why their biological family didn’t keep them. Steel yourself to share that pain with them and to assure them that you won’t cast them aside.

When Adopting a Baby

Figure Out Medical Care

While later on, you may deal with searching questions about their biological family and deal with some issues you would expect when adopting an older child, adopting a baby is quite different. One practical adoption tip for first-time parents is to square away medical care quickly. All kids need this, but babies have certain vaccines and check-ups you shouldn’t miss. Call your insurance company to get them covered, and find a quality pediatrician to help them start their life with you on the right, healthy foot.

Get Your Home Ready Quickly

Also, learning you’ll have a new son or daughter could catch you off-guard in other areas of your life. For one, your house may not be baby-ready. To get it there, remove all potentially dangerous items, including sharp and small objects. Also, give them a separate room of their own by properly painting it and setting it up. Once social distancing ends, you’ll have the advantage of professional painters to help you.

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