National Adoption Week 2013



This week once again marks National Adoption Week organised by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering.  All over the country charities and local authorities will be hosting events aimed to encourage more people to consider adopting and fostering the thousands of children waiting for homes.

Last year I ran a series of personal stories from other adopters to highlight the different types of adopters and their children. If you are a new reader who hasn't seen them, or a regular reader who wants to re-read them, here are the links for you:


This year I will be focusing on sharing as many of the events that are publicised in the media as I can find via my Facebook page.  These links will also be tweeted via my Twitter page.

Many people think that they won't be able to adopt; that difficulties from the past may preclude them from being considered; that their gender, age, or sexual orientation might be a barrier.  This is not the case.  I am an older parent who has adopted both children over the age of 40 (me, not them!).  I know of adopters from all walks of life and from all income brackets and from a variety of different family set-ups.  If you think that you could make a difference to a child in need of a home then contact one of the following for more information about organisations in your local area that you can speak to:





You can also check out #NAW2013 on Twitter to see what everyone else is talking about.....


Why not see if Adoption is an Option for you?


Comments

  1. Great post! I'm not an adopter or adopted, but promote adoption as part of my job and it is something I'm passionate about. I'm sharing the NAW message too today.

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    1. Thank you Sarah!! It's wonderful to hear of support from outside the adoption community. Much appreciated xx

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  2. I'm also sharing this post on Twitter. Adoption is a wonderful thing, full stop.

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    1. Thank you!! It is isn't it? I know it's not without its complications and emotions but I'm so blessed to have Katie and Pip. xx

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  3. Simple post with a very strong message, no more is needed, you're a great adoption advocate.

    Thanks for linking to the #NAW13 Weekly Adoption Shout Out. x

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  4. I'm keen to start the adoption process in a couple of years when I'm more financially set up. However I have very little to do with children (I'm a doctor and I see them as about a quarter of my patients and that is it) as few of my friends and none of my close family have any! I imagine to be approved as an adopter you'd need to show some evidence of being able to interact and look after children but I'm uncertain how to get this. I work shifts, so commitment to volunteering is hard as they generally want a regular slot!

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    1. Hi there. Sorry for the slow reply. It's been a bit crazy here just lately and I've not had time to nuture the blog. I wanted to wish you lots of luck with your adoption process. Do get in touch via my email if you want to chat things through in more detail. I'm always keen to speak to new adopters. The issue you raise about childcare experience came up with our first adoption and we did a day in a local childrens centre which was really helpful. We did have lots of experience of looking after friends children and our godchildren and nephew but any additional experience is really helpful. I'm sure you have picked up lots of skills as a doctor around how to speak to children and probably have a lot more of a skill base than you might give yourself credit for. You could maybe contact a local childminder to see if you could offer some ad hoc help and gain experience that way or ask your local childrens centre if you could do a few one-off voluntary days for experience. You can learn so much in one day. Good luck! x

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  5. It's great when adoption is encouraged. We're doing Adoption Awareness month right now in the U.S and it's been pretty good so far.

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    1. Hi Kendra. Great to hear that things are going well in the US. We could do with having a month long awareness period as well. This is partly why I write this blog, to raise awareness and show what our lives as adopters are like. Hopefully it helps people see that it's not all the doom and gloom sometimes portrayed in the media.

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