Older parents finding joy in adoption

Baby boomers in Louisiana and across the country in their 50s and 60s are adopting children, according to the executive director of an adoption policy and education association. While he said that there are no statistics available to document the ages of adoptive parents, it is happening. That is despite a recent study of Americans’ thoughts about aging that found people think others should stop giving birth by age 41.

Still, there is room for older parents to adopt. Women who want to rise to the top of their profession no longer need to interrupt their careers to have children at a younger age. With most women living into their 80s, they still have time to see their children grow up and meet their grandchildren, the adoption association executive said.

One Louisiana couple decided 10 years ago that even though they had raised their children — they had four between the ages of 20 and 29 — they wanted to start anew. They had two grandchildren at the time but journeyed to China to bring home a new 2-year-old daughter. The woman was 50 and her husband 55, and she said they were not ready to retire. They still wanted to parent.

Self-employed, they sometimes travel for their job, and they take their daughter with them. She is home schooled and has a knack for making friends wherever she goes. The little girl’s mother said their adult children probably didn’t agree with the decision to adopt in their 50s, but the couple is thrilled they did. Their daughter has two big sisters to help raise her, and her mother said she is more patient with this daughter than she was with her older children.

Older parents said they heard the naysayers, fielding questions ranging from how they could afford a child to how could they raise a child. They said they are glad they didn’t let age, or detractors, stop them from becoming parents.

Source: Huffington Post, “‘Too Old To Adopt’? Not The Case For These Parents,” Ann Brenoff, July 3, 2012