This guest profile is by Alana Redmond, a writer.
Writing an adoption profile isn’t as easy as it sounds. One word can determine your adoption status.
It’s important to follow organized steps and take calculated measures in order to secure your status as an adoptive parent.
Follow these do’s and don’ts when building your adoption profile to ensure your adoption process runs smoothly.
1. Don’t: Include long and unnecessary details about your path to becoming an adoptive parent.
Many couples share stories of their infertility and their struggles trying to procreate.
Dwelling on the dark history of your efforts to become pregnant isn’t always the best route because those who are placing their child up for adoption are also facing their own difficulties.
This can come across as self centered or as an act of desperation.
2. Do: Share your reason for adopting
Keep it simple and straight to the point. Honesty, accuracy and concrete information are always appreciated in adoption profiles.
Placing this information in the beginning of your adoption profile is beneficial because you’ll still have the reader’s attention.
3. Don’t: “Dear Birth Mother”
This phrase seems like a polite gesture when building an adoption profile. However, it can be an offensive and overbearing phrase.
A woman is not a birth mother until she places her child after birth. She may still be deciding her birth plan and looking for options, never assume anything.
4. Do: The basics
“Hello.” Sounds a little boring, doesn’t it? Well, this is the perfect gesture for building an adoption profile.
Keeping it simple is ideal when building a portrait for yourself and your family.
Many expectant mothers are looking for concrete and specific details including location and how long a couple has been together.
Leaving out the “fluff” will not only make it easier on you, but also on the reader.
5. Don’t: Brag about your wealth
Promising the expecting mother a better life for their child is simple. However, it can easily be twisted around and made about money.
It’s important to take caution when writing about how you plan to give their child a better life.
The expecting mother doesn’t care about your possessions and is probably already aware of the fact that adopting a child isn’t cheap.
Bragging about wealth just comes off as pretentious and that can greatly decrease your chances of adopting.
6. Do: Focus on the child’s future
Explaining your goals for the child’s future is incredibly important.
Telling the expectant mother you’re already saving for their college tuition or a family vacation is a good way to express that your family is financially responsible and optimistic about the future of the child.
7. Don’t: Include identifying personal information
Including personal information such as email, phone numbers and social media accounts can be a major mistake when building a adoption profile.
This could lead to scammers receiving your information and trying to contact you for money or even a plane ticket.
8. Do: Share your photos
Sharing memorable photos on your adoption profile from a family vacation or a day in the park can shed a lot of light on the type of values your family holds.
Holiday photos can also explain a lot about your family’s cultural values (without having to explain in a long paragraph).
Many expecting parents are worried their child may feel excluded or disconnected from their roots.
Sharing photos allows potential birth parents to know their child will have a loving and fun family that is involved with their community and holds sincere values.
Keep in mind over-sharing too many images on your profile can be overwhelming.
Communicate a sense of your family dynamic – with all members included – without creating an entire photo album.
Alana Redmond is a legal content writer and has worked with several family law firms including Yelman & Associates in San Diego.
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