Choosing an Adoptive Family for Your Child as a Birth Mother

By: Erin Jones

As a birth mother placing her child for adoption in Florida, one of your most important duties will be to choose an adoptive family for your child. Choosing the right family for your child will not be an easy decision. There are so many great families out there waiting to adopt! So, Adoption Choices of Florida has listed three of the most important things to consider before making your final decision.

3 Things to Consider When Choosing an Adoptive Family for Your Child

1. Do You Believe Your Child’s Potential Adoptive Parents/Family are Good-Hearted, Decent People?

An important thing to consider when reviewing potential adoptive families is whether or not these adoptive families contain good and loving people. All potential adoptive families must through extensive background checks to determine their character. They must also allow least one thorough home inspection before they are approved for adoption. So, by the time you begin reviewing potential families for your child, adoption agencies have likely determined that they are good people.

That said, it’s extremely important for you to feel that your child’s potential adoptive parents are truly wonderful people. This is why meeting and getting to know potential adoptive families is such an important step in the adoption process. Not all birth mothers meet with potential adoptive families for their child because of the type of adoption they choose. This is one of the many reasons why adoption professionals and other experts encourage open and semi-open adoption. You’ll certainly get a better feel for potential adoptive families by actually meeting and getting to know them.   

2. Does the Type of Adoption You’re Seeking Align with the Potential Family’s Adoption Preference?

It’s important for you and the adoptive family to agree upon which type of adoption you both want. Most of the time, adoption agencies will try to match you with potential adoptive families who have the same or similar preferences. If and when you do decide to meet with potential families, remember to ensure that your preferences align with theirs.

Again, note that you may be matched with an adoptive family who’s adoption preference is similar to yours. It’s common for either the birth mother or the adoptive family to want to increase the openness of the adoption. If you wish to stick to a specific kind of adoption, make sure to include that when creating your adoption plan. For more information on how to create an adoption plan, please visit our website’s blog on what to include in your child’s adoption plan.   

3. Have You Considered Your Other Preferences?

As you probably already know by now, there’s much to consider when choosing an adoptive family for your child. The following are some of the most common things birth mothers think about when choosing the right family for their child:

• Career(s) of the adoptive parent(s)/financial stability
• Religious views of the adoptive parent(s)
• Race, ethnicity, culture, etc. of the adoptive parent(s)
• Sexuality of the adoptive parent(s)
• Type of household — one-parent or two-parent
• Region/state/city/location where they want their child to grow up

Not all birth mothers have preferences regarding their child’s adoptive family, but most have at least a few! Since there are many families willing to adopt, it’s easy for professionals to provide mothers with families who meet their requirements. So, don’t be afraid to be specific when listing your preferences!

Florida Adoption and Choosing an Adoptive Family

At the end of the day, your main focus when choosing an adoptive family should be on determining whether or not the potential families are filled with good-hearted, open-minded people. It does not matter what their race, sexuality, or religious views may be. There is no evidence to support that any of these factors indicate anyone’s ability to be a good parent.

So, when the time comes to choose a family, search for one that you feel is genuinely loving. 

If you are a pregnant woman in Florida considering adoption, and have any questions or concerns about the adoption process, please don’t hesitate to reach out. For more information on adoption, visit us at Adoption Choices of Florida or call us at: (833) 352-3678