Adoption and maintaining a career

[booksshoescats]

I have a rather 'how-long-is-a-piece-of-string' question regarding the possibility of how realistic it is to think I'll be able to maintain my career after adopting a child. I think I am as realistic as it is possible to be about what is involved without having yet embarked on the process (i.e probably not very ) and I do realise that it is not possible, with all the good will in the world, to judge how much (and what kind of) care and attention a child will need until they have been with you for a while, and even then they may develop needs along the way (e.g. at school age/as teenagers) that they did not have as a two- or three-year-old, which is the age we would hope to adopt.

DH and I have birth DD age 4 and are potentially planning to embark on the process of applying to an LA in around 18 months' time. We have done a lot of legwork in terms of an LA that might take us on, and had a very promising face-to-face meeting with a lovely senior SW, who seemed favourable to us and advised us that when we were ready we should come back to her directly, could skip info events and she would have a SW come to see us and we could take it from there.

I am pretty sure this is what I want, DH slightly less so although very open to the idea. I am not attached to having another BC, and have always wanted to adopt, he is still not quite there as he would, in an ideal world, like another baby (although not desperate). I am 40 he is 46, though, so time running out for BC in any case.

Anyway, if you've read this far (thank you), the only sticking point I can see for me - and I am really giving this a lot of thought - is that I love my job/career, and can't see myself ever being able to give it up. It forms a very strong part of my identity and I don't think I could bear to go completely freelance or do less than three days a week. I work in a very female industry, where it is common for women to take a year for mat leave, so adoption leave wouldn't be a problem - it's more a case of what happens afterwards.

DH likes his job/career, but not attached in the way that I am. We have always done equal childcare (in fact he did more until recently and is an amazing dad with huge reserves of love and patience).

Anyway, would really like to get perspective from experienced adopters to whom career was important on how things have worked out for you. Apologies if I take a little while to come back, as am at work (obvs!).

Thanks so much in advance.

Hi
I adopted an 'easy to place ' 15 month old. BS was 8 at the time. My work was very important to me and I had worked long and hard to gain the qualification although I was already working part time
We were told our DD had no issues at all, had never lived with BF
Well that's not how it turned out. She came into our house like a wild animal
she now has a diagnosis of attachment disorder and is incredibly challenging
she is also very gorgeous and I love her totally
I have carried on working but only just. My employers have been pretty flexible and let me jiggle my hours at times
she can't cope with being looked after by others - we never leave her
But I did find a very small, special needs friendly nursery and spent weeks gradually settling her into nursery
I was very lucky, they gave her 1-1 care and coped with very challenging behaviours. She can be very violent with other children so she needed the 1-1 and so did the others to keep them safe
We have a very supportive school - I know in some schools she would've been frequently excluded

So, I have managed to work but only because we have been very lucky with the services we have
I know other adopters who have no issues but there is a much higher chance an adopted child will have extra needs and that needs to be considered
Good luck with whatever you decide

Agreed Happy. I am totally aware with how "lucky" we are with our DD and the needs that she currently has compared to others and am also aware that this could change at any point as she gets older

My story is similar to yours aladdinsane in that my dc came to me young with no diagnosed issues and they now have extreme behaviours needing constant 1:1, like you say, for their safety and the safety of those around them. My story is probably extreme but not rare unfortunately.

Happy- I agree, sadly is is not hard to find adopters like us who are parenting children who it turns out have extreme needs
My life is far from normal but I wouldn't be without her
I try not to dwell too much on the future though

I once read a post on a different board by a adopter who said she couldn't cope with extreme behaviour and had trusted her SW to find them an easy child
I found this very worrying because when you adopt such a young child you really do not know how they will develop and you need to be prepared for anything. Our children need and deserve to have a parent who will stick with them

You are right. No one knows the future but I do think I was underprepared for this. I think prospective adopters should be aware of stories like ours.

I think prospective adopters should be given a balanced view. Like I said on another thread, my brother adopted 3 children at roughly the same time as I adopted my DD. his children are older children. Although there have been some behaviour issues (as with our DD) overall it is going really well. I know it's not hard to find people who have difficult situations but it's also not hard to find people who have had positive ones. I think both sides deserve to be heard

Thanks so much, everyone, for sharing your experiences. Sorry for the lack of replies - I've been on holiday and only just seen these since I last logged on to MN. You have just confirmed what I think I was clear on in my op, which is that this really was a 'how long is a piece of string' question!

morethanpotatoprints Agree completely, and also feel that my dd needs me increasingly as she gets older ? up till two she wasn?t too bothered who was looking after her (parents, grandparents, nursery), but now it?s clear she needs me to be more present, and I notice the difference in her behaviour depending on how much time I am giving her and how ?present? she feels I am.

happyfreeconfused and aladdinsane I think what I?m really getting from what you?ve both said, as well as from what I?ve read elsewhere, is that it?s best right from the start to have adjusted one?s expectations of what ?normal? life will be like. ?Our children need and deserve to have a parent who will stick with them? ? that would have to be your mantra, wouldn?t it? I know some adoptions break down, and I can?t even imagine what that?s like for all involved, but I think that you would have to say this to yourself many times a day when things are at their toughest.

Hayley Thank you for the reassurance that things can also sometimes be fairly straightforward. It?s good to have a balance as you say ? to be prepared for the ?worst? and hope for the ?best? is no bad thing.

Maryz - I hope you don't mind my asking, but did you get any support (e.g. from the placing authority) when your ds's problems began to emerge? Also, I'd be really interested to know how his siblings respond to him. Do they have a good relationship? I hope this isn't too intrusive, but it's hard not to look at the great sibling relationships within my own close and extended family and hope for the same for my dd.

DH's job isn't flexible - it would be me that could leave at a moment's notice, but he is around two days a week, so could cover some of the care in that respect. So there would be some balance - as a family we'd be flexible, if that makes sense (if we were both to stay in the same jobs, that is).

Maryz Thank you so much for this. It never ceases to amaze me how fantastic people are on the adoption boards - there's so much honesty and strength here. Children are amazing in how accepting they are of their own families. And as for adoptive parents, who doesn't occasionally wish their children 'would disappear' so they could have a break (even the least problematic children!)?

The attitude of you SWs sounds positively prehistoric - so sad for you and your ds that this was their response, but you obviously found your own way and have a lovely family - I imagine their experiences with their brother have made your other two very understanding of the needs of others and that every family has their own kind of 'normal'.