Irene and Jack were 58 and 66 respectively when they decided to adopt.
They knew they wanted a family and after several years of unsuccessful IVF, they decided that adoption would be the best route for them to grow their family. It took some time for them reach their decision to adopt an older child, as they had always hoped for a baby.
“As older adopters we felt we had a lot to offer an older child. We have the life experiences, a settled home life, a good relationship; we were in a good financial position and had a supportive extended family with children. It just seemed right for us. ”
The couple approached an adoption agency and knew it was the right one for them. They felt fully supported throughout both the assessment and matching process.
“We were well prepared by our agency to adopt an older child. We attended lots of training and made it a priority to learn as much as we could. Initially we were concerned about whether we had made the right decision and if we had the tools for us to be able to raise a child who may have suffered from trauma and neglect. How would we deal with this?
We had no need to worry, as we were supported from day one and our agency was and continues to be there for us whenever we need them.”
“Another concern was our ages and how to ensure that we would remain fit enough to be able to raise a child into adulthood. This would have been more difficult with a much younger child”
“The reality of suddenly becoming parents required lots of adjustment and hard work. Luckily we have a strong network of friends and family who supported us in our new roles as parents and we have always had excellent support and expert advice from our agency as and when we have needed it.”
“We remain very mindful of how we parent, and we endeavour to do this in a nurturing and therapeutic way. Some days can be difficult and others are wonderful! I look at Robert every day and have so much love for him. Every moment is worth it, he is worth it! We’ve learned to understand him, why he presents as he does and we have developed strategies to help him and to help us become better parents. He is our world.”
“Robert is a lovely, beautiful young man who we love very much. We have found it extremely rewarding to see him grow and develop into a kind and intelligent person. Although at times we have found parenting to be difficult, this pales into insignificance as his bond /attachment to us and ours to him grows every day. It’s a privilege for us to have been given the gift of being his mum and dad.”
“Adopting Robert has been the most rewarding decision we have ever made. You discover things about yourself that you never knew. You find out that you can be quite resilient and resourceful. I would encourage anyone thinking about adopting an older child to go for it, don’t hold back!”
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