Adoption Activity day - children, actual children!!

[Desmoulinsonatable]

Just back from an adoption activity day and utterly exhausted emotionally and physically but how wonderful in amongst all this paperwork to meet some real live beautiful, bouncing children.

Great stuff.

Hope you connected with a few so avenues can be explored further.

We did! DH emailing our lovely SW now but even if they come to naught it is brilliant just to be reminded am that at the heart of all the gumph are these little souls and that they are not just a litany of issues. A good day that I just wanted to share.

How brilliant. I know you can't tell us anything confidential at all but can you share anything else about how the day went, from your perspective. Did you have to dress up! The one I saw on telly the adults dressed up! And I felt looked rather hot and sweaty in a costum!

costume!

Thanks Italian. It was fab, great venue, outside and indoor events. There was a theme but it allowed cool and comfortable costumes (just hats etc) lots of helpers around. Glorious weather helped for sure! More adopters than children but it didn't feel too pressurised - very open chats with SWs and FCs. Also fab magic show at the end which the kids loved.

What I find fascinating is that no-one can write the chemistry that you may or may not get onto a profile.

Fabulous Desmoulinsonatable. Can I ask if when you get home you just email off and say we are interested in X or XYZ etc?

I went to a county matching event of our consortium (three counties) and at the end we were given bits of paper, before we left, and asked to write any names down. We wrote a few names down, got home and I emailed again to say, can I just add X Y Z etc. It was very overwhelming, and no actual children were involved there, just paper profiles, but it was amazing.

The thing I felt was that expressing interest was not a cast iron we will adopt this child, it was just an expression of interest but I do wonder if it feels different when you have actually met the child.

Have you been to one too Random?

We had an expression of interest form in our packs but needed to go home and contemplate things first. Ours was a consortium event too, but our SW said to let her know of our interest. We also feel it is just that, an expression of interest. So we have mentioned a number of kids and let our SW know if we felt a particular connection in the email. One pair chose us really which was wonderful and heartbreaking.

wow, I love hearing this. It is so exciting. I am living vicariously through you Desmoulinsonatable!

We never got to an activity day, we were matched before the activity day happened! I am not complaining but I just feel it is such a very good idea.

I might volunteer to help at such a day in the future. We are a year post adoption and I am now looking into being involved in the support side of it all.

Was it well organised and did you feel supported and comfortable during the day? (May I ask, she asked, asking anyway!!)

Hi all, live vicariously away Italian and of course you can ask! We thought the day was very well organised. There was a briefing for potential adopters then free time to interact with the kids, their FCs and SWs doing all sorts of activities. These included football, building dens, skipping outside, then cake decorating, face painting and drums etc inside.

After a couple of hours there was a great buffet tea for all then a show for the kids with a great performer.

It was really well balanced and great fun. DH and I are quite outgoing and love playing games and getting down on the floor with the kids so it suited us. It does suit the more confident kids better I would think, but they loved having a room full of adults looking to play with them and make sure they had the best time ever!

We were given info about the kids but were told in no uncertain terms not to take the info into the area with the kids so there was no 'catalogue' feeling - which was a massive relief. It was just a fantastic day!

Sounds great, and a good balance of activities. Something for everyone. Good luck.

I've been following your thread and just thought I would share our experience. My DH and I attended 3 last year. I found tHem quite uncomfortable at first but you have the right attitude- hands on with the children and jumping right in there. We found them really well organised. Didn't dress up but it didn't really matter. We went to meet 2 children we were interested in but met 2 gorgeous boys on the day. We enquired about them and 6 months later they had moved In with us. It makes such a difference meeting the children rather than just looking at a profile and we probably wouldn't have shown interest in them if we hadn't. Can definitely recommend these days if anyone is thinking about going to one. I think you just need to have the right attitude and know what to expect - and of course have fun with the children.

Sunshine how brilliant. Good news.

We are going to one in may...have even dreading it bit got to admit it does sound fab

Sarah please do not dread it. I know I have not been to one so I can't say but I do think this is a wonderful chance to meet some amazing kids and to experience something exciting, if daunting.

Take your warmest smile and just enjoy the day.

I think it is actually more daunting to make a life time commitment to a child you have not yet met! Which is what we did. But even that really pales into insignificance when you think that these children will end up taking a chance on us, whichever mum or dad or mum and dad adopts them.

It really is a wonderful idea and it sounds like the adults now know how to run these events so the most important people (the kids) have a great day out and a chance to meet their mum and dad.

Did you watch the Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary Finding Mum and Dad?

www.channel4.com/programmes/finding-mum-and-dad/videos/all/finding-mum-and-dad-clip-1

Please keep us posted (if you want to!)

Sunshine that is lovely! Sarah I can only echo what Italian has said so eloquently, don't dread it! Go with the attitude that it is simply splendid to actually meet some children and have free licence to play and be silly. We found that our day, which was BAAF organised had moved on since the tele programme and was even less awkward. The joy is that it is so child focussed and you have to keep remembering that, the main aim is to give the children a wonderful time, the adopters are a sidebar really!

I would also say go with your mind and heart open wide. We went with ideas about gender that have frankly been blown out of the water! This was brilliant and just proves that this is a game with no rules and is all the better for it.
Good luck with your day Sarah, it will be grand.

Thanks guys :) I'll try to look forward to it...just seems very daunting that's all.