Is Adoption Good for Children?

The National Survey of Adoptive Parents, along with the National Survey of Children’s Health, collected data on adopted children in the United States. The information was gathered from the parents of 2,737 adopted children.

The information gathered in this survey shows that adopted children generally do well:

• 95% of adopted children have health insurance.
• 88 percent of adopted children show positive social behavior.
• 88% read for pleasure in elementary school.
• 87% of adopted children have parents who say they would definitely adopt them again, knowing everything they know now, and more than 90% describe their experience as positive.
• 85% of adopted children are in very good or excellent health.
• 81% have warm and loving relationships with their parents.
• 70% live with two married parents.

The great majority of adopted children live in happy families and have positive behaviors and circumstances.

Comparisons

Some of the data compared adopted kids with the population overall. For example, researchers found that adopted children were less likely to live in poverty than the general population.

The survey also found that adopted children had other advantages:

• 85% engage in extra curricular activities, compared with 81% in the general population.
• 79% live in safe neighborhoods, compared with 71% in the general population.
• 68% of adopted children are read to every day, compared with 48% of the general population.
• 73% are sung to or told stories daily, compared with 59% of the general population.

One possible disadvantage was that 39% of adopted children have special health care needs, compared with 19% of the general population. This is not the result of adoption, of course, but it can have effects.

Conclusions

Giving up a child for adoption is a positive decision, one that can lead to the best outcomes for the children and for their parents. Adopting a child is also a positive decision, with good outcomes for children and parents.

Heimer Law specializes in Arkansas adoptions. Our highly experienced team makes the adoption process smoother and more successful. Contact us today to begin the conversation.