For Tennessee residents who are looking to start or expand their families, an open adoption may be worth looking into. In this scenario, the adoptive family and the birth family maintain some form of regular contact with each other. This could range from sending emails to creating a formal visitation schedule. Of course, choosing an open adoption should only be done if it is in the best interest of the child.
One of the biggest benefits to an open adoption is that the child knows where he or she comes from. When a child knows who his or her birth parents are, that child is less likely to feel lost or left out of something. It also eliminates the need for the adoptive parents to worry about the day when the child asks where he or she came from. The adoptive parents can benefit when the child has additional family members to go to for support.
Some downsides to consider are the potential lack of boundaries between the adoptive parents and the biological parents. It is also possible that the two sets of parents don’t get along well. The two sets of parents run the risk of clashing over their styles of raising a child or what role the other is supposed to play in the child’s life.
There could be many factors that a parent needs to think about before choosing an open adoption. Some of the common factors may include balancing the needs of the child, the preferences of the adoptive parents and the wishes of the biological parents. However, the child’s needs are typically given the top priority. An attorney may be able to tell a person more about an open adoption in an effort to help that person make an educated decision.
