ADOPTION is a means of meeting the developmental needs of a child legally transferring ongoing parental responsibilities for that child from birth parents to adoptive parents.

People do not adopt unless they can love a child that was not born to them. Although love for a biological child is the same as an adopted child , the attachment between an adopted child and the adoptive parents develop in different ways. The parent-child attachment develops with parents needing confidence in their ability to take care of the needy child and warm, consistent atmosphere. Where it takes time for the child to think that their parents are special people and to know that this is their "forever family".

Adopting the older child is much more difficult as the child's likes and dislikes have already been established. The older child brings on additional concern for the adoptive parents. The child's history of abuse and/or neglect could make the attachment process very difficult.

The adopted children have a self image that they have been "rejected" by their birth family, which causes a very low self-esteem. Some of these adopted children are also affected by the placement they had while in foster care which could have been very traumatic on them.

Adoption can be a healing resource for those children who have experienced trauma in their biological family.