Every child has the right to a family, and it is our duty as a society to provide for it!
Today, on the adoption day, we want to talk about the topic that has been a buzz one since the beginning of the war – adoption.
‘In our country, the concept of “adoption” has a rather ambiguous meaning.Adults who have little to do with childhood care often see this as a means of “providing” children for those who want to have them.It is not so.
Adoption is the right and opportunity of a child who could not be brought up by biological parents to get a family. Google says adoption is the best form of the child’s placement, but let’s see if it works that way’– Marianna Bilyk.
Today, the procedure for adopting children in Ukraine is possible. During the war, this process does not operate under a simplified or accelerated scheme, as it implies great responsibility and risks. Adoption is carried out on a general basis, taking into account the norms of the current national legislation.
Marianna Kaspryshyn, Director of the Community for Family programme of the Ukrainian Education Platform, shares several tips and guidelines for adults on adoption.
Adoption is not for the parents, it is for the child, and understanding this interdependence is very important when deciding to adopt.
Sometimes, it happens that potential adoptive parents see adoption as an opportunity to ‘pick up’ the child for themselves. But in reality, this does not and should not work this way. Every child is a person who has the right to a loving family, not the other way around.
Taking a child into your family, you need to understand that the child’s past could leave many imprints on their ‘today’.
For adoption candidates, I would recommend checking their expectations:
what they want when adopting a child,
do they understand that the child may exhibit different behaviours and that they will definitely go through different stages of getting used to the family,
do the candidates have a plan in case the child does not behave the way they wanted?
Because the expectation of ‘raising a polite and obedient child’ does not work with either biological or adopted children.
Training candidates is a very significant and important step.
Do not avoid trainings and do not skip them: all knowledge will definitely suit you in practice. We recommend finding those parents who have adopted a child and talking to them about different situations that may arise.
Some children will no longer be able to be adopted.
And this is not about violating the child’s rights but about their best interests. If the child has lived in an institutional form for a long time, this has significantly affected their path of adaptation to a new family.
That is why we consider the child’s institutionalisation a direct violation of their rights. Staying in an institution for more than 6 months has an irreversible impact on the child’s development.
Professional family support is extremely important.Meet a psychologist who has experience working with adoptive parents.This will be very helpful for parents in the initial stages of the child’s adaptation to the family.
If you still want to become an adoptive parent, then please note that information about the preparation process can be obtained on the website of the children’s service of your city or community.
If you want to temporarily shelter a child in your family, contact the children’s service at your place of residence/stay, the National Social Service of Ukraine, or leave a request in the Child is Not Alone chatbot.