January 13, 2015
Three Things to Remember When Creating Your Adoption Profile
It’s a new year, and that means that some of you are perhaps thinking about growing your families through adoption. And with those adoptions come your adoption profile — the document you create about you and your family that’s presented to prospective birth parents with the end goal of getting them to choose you. It’s a daunting task, summing up your life and why you’ll be a good parent to someone you’ve never met. So whether you’re looking to update your current profile, or you’re completely starting from scratch, here are some helpful tips for making a positive, and genuine, impression.
1. Be yourself. This point can’t be stressed enough. The minute you try to be anything other than the wonderful human you are, is the minute your profile will lose steam. You are worthy of being parent, you deserve to be a parent, and if you stay true to that and represent yourself honestly, that will shine through. Don’t worry about what you think a birth mother wants to hear — the right birth mother for you will want you because you’re you.
2. It’s in the details. Details are important for so many reason — they build the look of your profile, they show the type of life you live, and they communicate attention, care, and thought. Think about how you want your adoption profile to feel, think about what you wish you could show a birth mother about your day to day life, and the relationships you have with your family. Think about all the things you’d say and communicate to her if she had the opportunity to meet you first, and put every inch of that into your profile. The more you go in on the details, the more she’ll get to know you. Now this is not to say that your profile should be cluttered and over-designed and full of details — simple and clear cut is always stronger than something that is overly busy. But you do want to make sure that everything you include speaks as many volumes as possible.
3. Pictures. Think about what excites you most when you’re reading posts on Facebook, or scrolling through Instagram. It’s likely not the long, overly wordy notes, or captions that go on forever that keep your attention. It’s probably the photos, isn’t it? Photos that tell a story, that show happiness, that make you wish you were right there where those people in the photo are. Think about that when you’re choosing the photos for your profile. Photos that are relevant, clear, and positive will make a powerful impact.
Have you already created your adoption profile? What are some helpful tips you might have for those in our community just getting started? Post them in the comments on our Facebook page!
