Abstract
Adopting is the permanent acquisition of the responsibilities and rights accompanied with owning a child that previously was not yours. It is the process of acquiring parenthood though not by biological means. It is different from guardianship from the fact that adoption is permanent and the adopted child enjoys the privilege of having permanent parents. Adoption is held legal through the legal and religious laws. Adoption allows the child to have a right to inheritance and a right to have a family name. Adoption has history which started with the western countries and especially in the Roman Catholic. It was done to the children who were orphaned, had run away from their homes, those who were abused and the ones that were neglected.
The modern adoption is in two forms; the open and the closed adoption. Open adoption is the form of adoption where there is an interactive communication between the parents adopting the child and the biological parents. The negotiations could be formal or informal. On the other hand, closed adoption is the one where the parents who are adopting the child do not know each other with the biological parents. There is concealed information especially where a child was forcefully taken away from the parents due to factors such as abuse. The negotiations are purely formal and are procedural. These are more common in children who are anonymous especially the infants who have just been born and neglected by their parents or their parents die during labor. Experts view such a form of adaptation a being dangerous. Their views are that parents who adopt children in that way risk many concealed factors, such as, the physical and mental trends of the family as well as the Rhea medical history of the child.
Introduction
Adoption can be defined by many concepts. The concepts may range from ethnical background or other factors, which forms the framework for the adoption. Various forms of adaptation include ethnical and interactive adaptation. Ethnic adaptation is the acquisition of a child considering the fact that the adopted child is of the same ethnic background as one or both of the parents. Adaptation of children based on their ethnic background has been having many controversies with many experts differing on whether children should be adopted basing on their ethnic background. It has been observed that many parents who seek to adopt children seek to know the race and ethnical background of the child and they prefer the one that belongs to their ethnical background. In the modern world, the element of adoption is prevailing at a higher rate. This is based on various factors that are contributing to the loss of the parenthood of parents especially due to the prevailing chronic diseases and catastrophes.
Families that are formed along the racial and ethnic background represent growing demography and diversification of family norms especially in the United States. In the country, many associations representing the black people have openly condemned interracial adaptation of children sitting the fact that such children lack a moral and racial background. The basis of the argument is that rhea child lacks role models who are best developed in their own original racial backgrounds. Although there are no adaptation roles all over the world which denies interracial adaptation of children, many families feel safer adopting a child basing on their racial backgrounds. The law condemns any delay or denial of adaptation of a child due to their race. In countries like the United States of America, many black children are more likely to find themselves in foster care than the white children due to the fact that the black families are more affected by such factors as poverty and fights . The conditions which lead to loss of parenthood is common especially to blacks as compared to white individuals.
Interracial adaptation is very new in practice as there has been a major background along the racial background especially in the Arab countries. In such countries, it is very difficult for a family to adopt a child who is not of the Asian origin. The blacks are the most disadvantaged. Statistics show that the western countries do not have many biases based on racial background as there are strong human rights organizations which are strongly backed by the governments. The organizations have played a crucial role in influencing the individual behaviors towards the adoption of a child. The human element has been instigated with peoples so as to contribute towards social harmony and development.
Ethnical adaptation should be a very important factor when considering adopting a child. This is due to the fact that children who are adopted by parents who are of the same race as they have a strong sense of identity. Such children have strong ethnical values which they feel comfortable with. Children are more comfortable and more interactive with the people that seem to look as they are. If we were to expose children to interethnic adaptation, such children would have a very low since of self esteem as they would view their surroundings as being alien. Children brought up in their ethnical origin develop a strong bond with the people in their community. These are very important to the development of their minds. They develop their relationship and identity. This has been noted as one of the factors that make the adopted children run away from their households and seek refuge in the streets due to the sense that they are aliens in their families.
Each and every ethnic grouping has its own cultures and beliefs. A child is introduced to such characters from the time they are infants. It becomes increasingly challenging to foster parents to change the characters that have already been introduced to a child due to the fact that they have them in their minds. It has been noted that attempts to change such characters may lead to confusion as the child may not know what norms to follow. Some of those characters may also be seen as a taboo across different ethnicities, and that may lead to conflicts in the household especially if the children are teenagers. This can be avoided if couples seeking to adopt a child choose one that is from their ethnic background to avoid the same.
The other issue is acceptable. Children from other ethnical backgrounds have challenges with being accepted into the society. It has been noted that children from the marginalized communities in most parts of the world are treated coldly by their age mates and society as a whole. This is a very critical issue in the development of the children’s personality when they grow up. Children feel more comfortable when they live, play and school with children who have the same backgrounds as they are. The measure should be put in place to ensure that children are followed up even after adoption to ensure that they adapt well with the community that they are going to call home in order to safeguard their critical rights .
It is also important to acknowledge the fact that there are foster parents who abuse adopted children due to grounds of ethnic differences. Some people see some ethnic groups as being inferior and may take advantage of law to adopt children from other races and ethnic backgrounds and use them as workers in their families. This is more prevalent in the Arabian countries where small children especially girls are used as maids. There also have been numerous complaints about children being abused sexually by their foster parents. To solve this problem, the authorities should ensure that children are adopted in communities that they are accepted.
The language barrier is also an issue when adopting children from a different ethnic background. Children who already have picked a native language may find complications in trying to change it. This leads to confusion and also in the development of the child. An adopted child would be more comfortable in an environment where they can express themselves and where the other people understand their language.
Conclusion
The ethnic adoption of children has been a widely recognized as being a viable and important practice to enhance the social contact of the society. More and more human rights organizations and individuals have been fighting for adoption of children in their birth cultures. The purpose of this study was to identify the various factors that affect inter-ethnic adaptation and the socialization and neighborhood of children who have been adopted in cultures that are not originally to them. It was observed that inter-ethnic adaptation of children has socialization and psychological well being challenges.
The findings also suggest that parents should introduce their children to the ethnic cultures that they have to adapt in order to develop their identity and also for proper development. This increases their self-esteem and also reduces the effects of marginalization and as such helps in the formation of individuals with strong moral and interpersonal relationships.
The other recommendation that needs to be considered is to bridge the huge gaps between ethnic groupings. There should be relevant measures to reduce hatred of the people. Such ethnic differences are mainly attributed to politics and even the skin color. Politicians should stop insighting people in their ethnic groups against others as this leads to conflicts. Among those who are greatly affected are the children who have parents of their opponent clans and these risks their lives due to hatred and abuse. People should also be made to understand the fact that the color of the skin does not necessarily mean differences in character. Human rights groups should monitor any cases of abuse of children due to their skin color.
Work cited
Kilton, Derek. 'Race', Ethnicity and Adoption. Buckingham: Celtic Court, 2000.
Mohanty, Jayashree. Ethnic Sociolization, Identity Development . London: Pro Quest, 2008.
Morea, Marilisa. A Descriptive Review Add Interethnic Adoption. London: Pro Quest, 2007.
Wharton, lizabeth. Adoption Bibliography And Mult-iethnic . Californoa : University of California, 2000.
Yngvesson, Barbara. Belonging in an Adopted World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
