Benefits of Being Adopted

The most important consideration in an adoption is the wellbeing of the child. Will placing this child for adoption mean that she grows up happier, healthier, and better off? Will choosing adoption for this baby mean that he has disadvantages compared to other children? These are common worries for both birth and adoptive parents who are considering adoption. Similarly, some adoptees are curious if they may experience any benefits as a result of their adopted roots.

Research conducted with adoptees is the most telling about whether or not you as an adoptee might have benefited from adoption. And the results show that, yes — children do benefit from adoption.

Three of the best benefits of adoption for children and adult adoptees include:

Access to More Opportunities

You may have received opportunities as a result of your adoption that you wouldn’t have received otherwise.

There are many reasons why an expectant mother may consider adoption for her child. She may not be financially stable enough to raise a child at that point, or she may not be in a place in her life where she feels that she can’t mentally or emotionally provide for her child in the way that she wants to.

For these reasons, she chooses an adoptive family who is prepared for a child, financially, mentally, physically and emotionally. Through this choice, she can ensure that her child is able to have access to opportunities that she may not have otherwise been able to provide.

These opportunities might include:

• More time spent with the child
• The ability to pursue higher education goals
• Travel opportunities
• A safe and stable home environment
• A two-parent household
• And more

While all birth mothers love the children that they placed for adoption, not all of them would have been able to provide the same opportunities to their child as their adoptive parents. This is one of the practical adoption benefits for the child, and a benefit you may have received by being adopted.

Statistic Advantages of Being Adopted Over Non-Adopted Children

There are studies that show that there are more benefits of being adopted than there are for non-adopted children. In a 2007 report conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, adopted children were reported to have significant advantages when it came to health, extracurricular activities and school performance.

The same report showed adopted child benefits regarding health, with 85 percent of adopted children in “very good to excellent health.” Adopted children were also more likely to have health insurance than children who were not adopted. Adopted children were also less likely to live in households below the poverty line.

According to the same study, 68 percent of adopted children are read to every day as young children, versus 48 percent of children who were not adopted. Seventy-three percent of adopted children were sung to and told stories to every day, compared to 59 percent of children who were not adopted. Adopted children were more likely to participate in extracurricular activities while in school (85 percent vs. 81 percent of children in the general population), and more than half were reported to have “very good or excellent” performance in reading, language arts and math in school.

Having Two Families That Love You

One of the best benefits of being adopted is having both a birth and adoptive family who love you. Almost all modern adoptions are open to some degree, so adopted children are able to have some relationship with their birth family.

Adoptees who say that they’re happy with the amount of communication they have with their birth family are shown to be happier overall, and report feeling secure in knowing that both their birth and adoptive families love them. After all, more love in your life is always a benefit!

There are many benefits of being adopted for children and adult adoptees, but the greatest benefit is the love you receive from your birth and adoptive families as a child and as an adult!