January 07, 2019
Adoption Resolutions: Crafting Your Profile
We’re 7 days into the new year and it’s not too bad so far, right? Today we’re continuing a series we started before the holidays called Adoption Resolutions, in which we identify goals prospective or newly adopting parents can work on as part of their adoption process. This is a feature meant, above all, to support and bolster your process, and today we’re talking about adoption profiles!
Whether you’re creating one as a first-time adoptive parent, or you’re considering adopting again and your previous one could use a refresh, here are our tips for crafting an authentic, meaningful adoption profile designed to express who you are and resonate with birth parents.
Speak like yourself! Adoption is a big, emotional, weighty topic, and when trying to express the grandiosity of what it means to you, it can be easy to resort to clichés. But clichés don’t mean anything, so they have no place in your profile. Speak from your heart, write how you talk, give prospective birth parents an honest sense of who you are and how you communicate. Allowing a birth mother to experience your true personality will have much greater impact than empty words that have been said time and time again. But do make sure your profile is reviewed and proofread by someone you trust — a profile filled with grammar or spelling errors feels careless, and we know that’s not what you’re trying to convey.
Pictures matter. Photos are absolutely essential to a successful adoption profile, so think about this when you’re selecting photos you want to include. It’s important that your photos fully visualize you (note: selfies don’t always work.) And make sure that they depict a wide range of activities and moments — choose photos of you, or you and your partner enjoying specific activities and ones that showcase your life and how you lead it. This is your potential birth mother’s first opportunity to see you and make a connection, so think about the impression you want to make. What would inspire you to connect with someone you’ve never met?
What are your dreams as a parent? This is your opportunity to express your parenting vision. How do you intend to parent this child? What sorts of ideals and experiences are important to you? What have you always dreamed of doing, teaching, and sharing with your child? Your adoption profile is not about making your parental goals sound perfect, it’s about ensuring your goals and parenting ideals communicate who you intend to be as a parent. The right birth mother for you will connect with your ideals as well, and that’s what will make you a perfect match.
Don’t forget the details. How did you and your partner meet? What were your childhoods like? Where did you grow up? What are your favorite weekend rituals? Rather than giving a baseline report of the things you like, really dive into the details that make you who you are and separate you from any other couple whose profile a birth mother may also be reading.
Above all…project your wonderful self! As long as you do that, you’re good to go. That’s what matters most.
