When sharing the news that you plan to adopt with friends and family, you should also be prepared that many in your life will also be sharing with you.
In adoption, waiting families often find that nearly everyone they know has some type of information, news or advice for them. However, deciphering what is accurate, helpful advice from advice that is inaccurate or misconstrued can be difficult.
When it comes to advice and information regarding the adoption process, it is best to always trust your adoption professional. Although your friends or family may have advice for you, it is important to remember that adoption is a very complicated and complex issue. Many people only know about adoption through television movies or news reports that may not be completely accurate or skewed. Also remember that just because someone has adopted before, they also are not an adoption expert. Adoption laws vary from country to country and state to state. Just because your cousin adopted from Ohio, does not mean that the process will be the same for your adoption in California. Likewise, the adoption process for an international adoption is very different from a domestic adoption. The process in which adoptions have been done has also changed over the years and would be different than those who went through the process even a decade ago.
It is always best to seek the advice from your adoption professional first — although your friends and family may have good intentions, they may in fact be providing you inaccurate information. In order to best judge what is good adoption advice and what is bad, communicate with your adoption professional and share the information you may have heard. Only he/she will be able to tell you what is fact and what is fiction regarding your adoption situation.