It would seem celebrities who adopt children are starting a trend?
In recent years Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt have adopted sons Maddox and Pax Thien and daughter Zahara. All three have been adopted from different countries.
Madonna adopted her son David from Malawi and actress Meg Ryan provided a home to a little girl named Daisy whom she adopted from China.
Do the decisions that these celebrities make influence people who are also considering adoption?
Mo O’Reilly from the British Association for Adoption & Fostering said she is undecided.
“It’s difficult to tell. I think if it does have an impact, is it likely to make them think about adopting from abroad rather than adopting at home, which is a shame”.
She added: “I think there’s quite a lot of controversy about people generally adopting from abroad and we know there’s a place for that but I think I would try and encourage people to think about children in their own country first.
In any one year there are upwards of four to five thousand children needing adoption in the United Kingdom every year and we have to try and recruit new adopters who can meet that need. Sometimes we fall short on that and those children aren’t able to be adopted. Which is a real shame.
I would encourage people interested in adoption to try and apply to their local council or government first. Plus, remember adoption is a legal procedure which involves going to court. Parental responsibility is transferred from the birth parents to the new adoptive parents so in every way that child becomes the legal child of this new family”.
In England alone she told us that there are not enough people coming forward to adopt young children. Many prospective parents would like to adopt newborn babies but is this an unrealistic goal?
Mo said, “On the whole it’s pretty unlikely but there are some categories of people where they could have a realistic chance. If they are people coming from the black and minority ethnic communities there are a good number of children who either have had two black parents or who are dual heritage and require adoptive families.
The assessment process is thorough and can last for six to eight months. At the end of the process people should have a good idea about what age of child they would be most suited to and interested in. However, it’s worth mentioning that the majority of children placed for adoption are still under the age of five. They are very young children and absolutely delightful and they’re in care for absolutely no fault of their own and are desperate to have a permanent family. By the time most people come to think about adoption they have either failed to conceive through fertility treatment so this may be the only route available to them”.
Mo also said, “social workers also know how difficult the adoption process can be but they are there to help you. Honestly, social workers are human beings they understand that people aren’t perfect, we’re looking for ordinary, honest folk who have a real interest in children and who want to give their best efforts”.
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What all do you have to go through to adopt a baby?I am 25 years old, and considering adoption.
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This is a good question…thanks for asking.
I have mixed emotions on this subject.
On one hand. I applaud them for being able and also wanting to help a child by adoption. And there are so many out there who will surely die without any help.
But..on the other hand…..and I know this may offend some, and I am sorry if I do, but we have children right here in our own backyard dying also. From disease, starvation, drugs…..there are children abandoned daily or abused and taken away from the parents. What happens to these kids?
I think for the celebrity…its a mater of being able to show this child off because the child is a different heritage. I think its a "look what I've just done" sort of thing and although that child will have a better life, why not try and fix the problems right here too?
Just my thoughts…….thanks again.
While I think we should help our own first, I never think it is a bad thing to help a child that needs a better home. I think the reason celebrities choose to adopt children from these countries as opposed to their own is greatly because of the reduction of possibilities of the biological parents involvement (and not always positive) with the child, media and celebrity.
The adoption process in the US is ridiculous. A special education teacher at my school tried to adopt (this woman and her husband are in my eyes the ideal parents…and I have high standards) they were turned away because she was on blood pressure medication. I found it utterly ridiculous and nearly makes me sick thinking about all the children that could have better homes, but just bounce from foster home to foster home (which as we have all heard is not regulated as it should be). I would suspect that there are adaption agencies that would turn away a celebrity simply because of their status.
ok, yes i see your point that others are waiting and following procedures in order to adopt lawfully, however with the end result being a child that no longer has to sit and wait and can move straight into a safe and healthy home and live a healthy life, should the media really be blowing it out to this extreme?
A healthy life for the child is the important issue not the red tape that had to be cut to make it possible
I like that kids who would otherwise remain in the orphanages are being given a pretty much carefree life and all that. What I don't like is when celebrities are clearly doing it to look good or for the attention. Take Madonna, for example. The child she wanted to adopt had a father, and there were custody battles over whether she could adopt the kid or whether the father had rights. She should have just let it go and found a true orphan, maybe donated money to the father of the other child if she really cared that much, so that he could provide for his kid.
It causes more harm. It puts off the perception that adoption is easy. These celebrities are able to go through a process very quickly without having to follow the rules that everyone else does (i.e. Madonna being granted special permission that she doesn't have to live in the country as other parents do for a designated time).
Adoption is a wonderful journey, but it is a difficult one. These celebrities make it appear as if you can just snap your fingers and find a child a home. That isn't true – but wouldn't it be great if it were?!
Because the majority of the hundreds of thousands of orphans in the us are involved with DHS. This causes all kinds of issues (not enough time in the day to go into the emotional issues that causes for everyone involved) for the adopting family. And most adoption agencies in the US still doesn't allow straight up adoptions for people who are over 40 and/or gay, regardless of their fame. And the amount of available infants for adoption in the US is extremely low because we (US society) discourage people form participating in birth adoptions; by offering more social services and funding to people who keep having children they can't support on their own, encourage parents to 'try their best' and then when they fail we then go take the child into protective custody (which is too late to ensure the child doesn't have any deep rooted abuse/neglect/attachment issues), we condemn young women from going though with a pregnancy and giving the child up so they opt for abortions. A celebrity in the US is also probably thinking about the intentions of the parents; Are they doing it for publicity/money? Is the parent going to revoke their adoption (because in the US they can for 6 months after it goes through)? And just to let you know, it's not just the celebs doing it. There is more than 3x the amount of overseas adoptions across the board in the US than there are adoptions within the US. So if you feel strongly about this subject, get out there and promote the great things about women who can go through a pregnancy and give thier child up at birth because the support is truely needed here. Speak out against the idea that people over 40 or gay shouldn't adopt. Speak out for the young women who feel they have only 2 options (keep the baby and raise it or abort) and let them know what a wonderful thing they would be doing for themselves, the baby, and the adoptive parents.
Famous People Who Are Birth Parents
David Crosby
Albert Einstein
Clark Gable
Faith Ireland
Andy Kaufman
Michael and Dodie Landon
Jackie "Moms" Mabley
Tug McGraw
Joni Mitchell
Kate Mulgrew
Amy Pietz
Roseanne
Hank Williams
Loretta Young
I dont necessarily think every celeb that adopts a child from another country gets a lot of attention. Meg Ryan adopted a child from another country a year ago or so, and there was a short mention and that was it.
You need to look at -who- is the one doing the adopting.
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, the obvious ones, these people are SO huge right now, whether we like them or not, they are. They are going to get a ton of attention no matter what they do. They could fart and people would care, unfortuantly.
Plus, the media has a sick obsession with the kids now a days anyway.
Madonna has gotten some attention to. But even though she started a "charity" and the kid she adopted, his father wanted him back.. which would be considered "news" , even SHE doesnt get the attention Jolie and Pitt do. No one cares about madonna and her adopting some kid from a third world country, most people think she just did it for extra publicity anyway.
Most I think are seeing the attention pitt/jolie have received and have jumped on the adopt-from-africa wagon. its for publicity. And I honestly think the media over looks the people who adot from the US.. they cant say much because they arent "saving" someone from a life of poverty and the public would get bored with "So and so adopted from an orphange in New York". Nothing else to be said.
Its wonderful to save a life, IF your heart is in the right place, not just to get a publcitiy boost. But you know, there are many boys and girls, of ALL ages right here in the United States that could realy use a loving home, and lord knows there are plenty of celebrities that could open their homes to them, if they wanted to. Its just sad.
I can't speak for other people but I personally am not influenced much by what celebrities do. So for me , no.
I'n not saying that I am opposed to adopting from foster care. I just wouldn't do it simply because celebrities do.