Bearing a child is considered to be the very purpose of life, especially by the orthodox and those with a traditional bent of mind. A childless couple performs endless poojas, goes through various treatments, for that bundle of joy which has not yet arrived. They are ready to go to any extent, shell out any amount for the sake of progeny. It is a different matter that if you go and meet those very parents in their old age, they may not have one good thing to say about that child. People are so obsessed with leaving a part of themselves for posterity that they find it difficult even to consider adoption. Even if they do decide on adopting, they would prefer to take a child from within the family, of the same blood. Instead of spending a fortune on treating infertility and having their own child, wouldn't it be better to adopt a child from an orphanage, a child without parents , without anybody of his own? By doing this, they would be getting an opportunity to shower love on a child, homeless and unloved and would also receive a child’s love in return. Adoption however, does give rise to some tricky situations. One major dilemma parents face is whether the fact of adoption should be divulged to the child. The answer of course is yes. Such an important fact about the child should not be hidden from him. Then, a trickier question arises. At what age should the child be informed? The earlier the child is informed, the better. You never know when the child will stumble upon the truth, from nosey neighbours, meddling friends or interfering relatives. So it is better that it is made known to the child in a language he understands like, "You are special. Angels brought you to us," to a more mature version as the child grows up. If the child gets to know this from outsiders, one never knows how he will react. It may scar him psychologically. If he comes to know about his adoption out of the blue when grown-up, he may reject his adoptive parents and may want to hunt for his birth parents. Certain rules regarding age have to be followed while adopting. Only a couple or a single female are allowed to adopt. Dance choreographer Sandeep … [Read more...]