Snips Snails and Pigtails

MYTH There are very
few babies being placed
for adoption.
REALITY 20,000 or more U.S.-
born infants are placed for adoption
each year—as many or more than
the number of international
adoptions yearly.

MYTH Adoption is outrageously
expensive, out of
reach for most families.
REALITY Adoption is often no
more expensive than giving birth.
Costs to adopt domestically average
$15,000, before the $10,000
Adoption Tax Credit and benefits
that many employers offer.

MYTH It takes years to complete
an adoption.
REALITY The average time span
of adoption is one to two years. The
majority of domestic and international
adopters who responded to a
recent poll by Adoptive Families
Magazine completed their adoptions
in less than a year.

MYTH Birthparents can
show up at any time to
reclaim their child.
REALITY Once an adoption is
finalized, the adoptive family is recognized
as the child’s family by law.
Despite the publicity surrounding a
few high-profile cases, post-adoption
revocations are extremely rare.

MYTH Birthparents are all
troubled teens.
REALITY Most birthparents
today are over 18,
but lack the resources to
care for a child. It is generally
with courage andlove for their child that they terminate
their parental rights.

MYTH Adopted children are
more likely to be troubled
than birth children.
REALITY Research shows that
adoptees are as well-adjusted as their
non-adopted peers. There is virtually
no difference in psychological functioning
between them.

MYTH Open adoption causes
problems for children.
REALITY Adoptees are not confused
by contact with their birthparents.
They benefit from the increased
understanding that their birthparents
gave them life but their forever families
take care of and nurture them.

MYTH Parents can’t love an
adopted child as much as
they would a biological child.
REALITY Love and attachment
are not the result of nor guaranteed
by biology. The intensity of bonding
and depth of emotion are the same,
regardless of how the child joined
the family.

Thanks to Adoptive Families Magazine for these wonderful facts!