What do you think about mixed race adoptions?

Question

My husband and I were discussing adopting a child in a few years, and I started thinking about how people would react to us (as a white couple) adopting a child of a different ethnic background. Do you think it causes more problems for a child to be in a family that is "different" from them, or to not have a family at all?

Answer 1

My bro(white) and his wife (also white) have adopted two kiddos from the same mom, who was white, but the Dad's were black..They are two of about 37 nieces and nephews..They are loved just like the rest of them, and treasured probably more because M&A were waiting for so long for them

Answer 2

I think every child needs love and a family, and there is more to "fitting in" than looking like your parents. :) Good luck!

Answer 3

Unfair to the children who have no choice in the matter. Not "all" people are as liberal on this practice as you folks may be. The child (children) may look at you and decide, you took them on as an experiment in social engineering or worse ,as a "Statement".

Answer 4

UHM I think that it would harder for a child to not have a family at all.... I know several families around here that has adopted kids from a different race and they are treated well around here. If I hadn't ended up with a black man then I was goin two adopt to black babies but like I said I am gonna have mixed babies of my own but I still want to adopt. lol  

Answer 5

I don't think the appearance of the child matters at all. As long as you give  that child a loving home that it otherwise would not have had, and raise it as your own, I see know reason why you should be worried about other people's reactions.

If anything, they should be proud of what you did. :]  

Answer 6

I have three children, 2 adopted and one biological.  All of them are different races (from each other) and it's never caused us a problem at all.  The kids all love the fact that they are unique and if anyone has ever had a problem with it they have never voiced it to my wife or I.  

Answer 7

Trans-racial adoption brings with it some unique challenges.  It's a misnomer to say that race does not matter.  It may not matter to the parents of a child, but it matters to the child and society at large.  These challenges are not insurmountable, but they do need to be acknowledged and addressed by the adoptive parents.

If you're considering trans-racial adoption, I recommend a couple of books:

Inside Trans-racial Adoption and In Their Own Voices.

Best of luck

Answer 8

It depends on who the Ap is.

Unfortunately, some look at it as it the best thing thing since Tang but those are the ones that can't have children on their own. They have to accept whatever baby is available, its not they want to adopt children that are of a different race. They have no choice.

I hope a child would end up with a family that is as similar to them as possible. It would prevent so much of the "difference" factor.

My manicurist is Korean and makes comments about white people adopting foreign child all the time.  She grew up in the states and knows how difficult it is at times never mind adding adoption on top of it.

To answer your question..emphatically Yes,it does add problems. Many children adopted from international countries already have families so its not a comparison of being without a family.

In the US foster care system we could make more of an effort.

I wish people would stop using Obama as a comparison to someone adopted by strangers because he wasn't and the heritage and religions of both his parents were always maintained in his homes. If you took the time to read his book you would clearly see the issues he faced as well as how he thought about living with his white folk grandparents.

I will be voting for him and not McCain.

Answer 9

I think it will make the child understand that race means nothing.

It is better for a child to be raised in a loving home rather than no family at all!  

If people react negatively to a while couple adopting a child that isn't white, that is THEIR problem, not yours.  Don't worry about what other people will think :)

Answer 10

What is interesting about the whole concept of mixed-race adoption is that in most cases it is white parents (or one white parent) adopting children of color.   In fact, it has almost become a status symbol in some quarters as celebrities are doing it (see the Pitt-Jolie brood).  

But many people who would approve of a white couple adopting a child of color would feel uncomfortable with a Black or Asian couple adopting a white child.  So you can see the racism that can be tacitly present even in trans-racial adoption.  We have to be careful that we do not use adoption as a form of colonialism:  Trying to take children and "make them white."  I know Korean adoptees who have had a hard time with having to "grow up white" when their external appearance is Asian.

However, on a related note:   If you do adopt a child of color that is obviously not your own, there definitely will be people who look at that child and immediately feel a deep sense of sadness and sympathy for that child that they lost their original parents.  And/or that there is a mother out there who is grieving the loss of her child.  If you adopt a child of your own race, then most people assume that he/she is a child of your own.  For every family "built" by adoption, unfortunately another family must first lose a child, or a child his/her parents, and this is very obvious in trans-racial adoptions.  

On a related note: seldom are children from international adoptions really orphans: they often have grandparents and other family members who could have cared for them.  Just like in the United States, it is mostly poverty (a preventable situation) that forces parents to surrender their children.

Answer 11

i think it will help the kid understand that color is just a color and any race can do any thing they want to no matter what color they are i think you should

Answer 12

i think there would be more problems if they had no family at all.

Answer 13

Well, obama was raised by white ppl & you see how great he turned out....

If you live in a redneck community then i would say it's not the best idea. Obama was raised in Hawaii so even though he was raised by white people he still came from a nice diverse place. There's a white couple raising a black girl that lives right down the street from me & a few interracial couples as well... Where i'm from it's normal but if you live in Alabama then i think you shouldnt do it... It's all about LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Answer 14

I am white; my son is Guatemalan.  I am as white as can be and my son is a beautiful tan color.  I get questions all the time... mostly, "Is he Spanish?"  And asked mostly by Spanish speaking people.  They all seem very interested in my son, its weird... he is like a neighborhood celebrity.

As far as my son, he has asked once about his skin...  and that's it.  He is almost 4. I'm teaching him that race is important for his individuality, but not for love.  Love is colorless.  

I obviously think mixed race adoptions are an awesome way to create your family...  but the parents may need to research possible identity issues that may come up along the way.

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I am not infertile; nor did I  accept "any" race that was available.  I chose Guatemala because I have Guatemalan relatives.  There were plenty of other countries I could have chosen to adopt a child from.  Guatemala was already close to my heart and a culture that I knew I could easily incorporate into our every day lives.

Answer 15

Parenting children of a different race than yourselves does bring added challenges. You would need to make sure to provide positive role models of their race for your children, help them understand and deal with racism of a kind that you (since you are white) will never face, and you will sometimes get strange looks.

Your children may also struggle with looking so different from you. Genetic mirroring is an even more serious concern when you adopt trans-racially.

But "brings added challenges" does NOT mean "is wrong or bad." A significant percentage of the children in foster care are minorities, and these children are in need of loving and stable homes. If you can provide that home and are willing to work through the hard parts, and to support your children as they face tough issues like racism and questions of ethnic identity, then the race issue should not deter you.

One thing I think would help a lot is if you considered adopting more than one child of that race, so no child feels like the complete odd one out with the different skin tone. If you could adopt a sibling group, that would be even more ideal, because they would provide some level of genetic mirroring for each other.

As long as you understand that parenting trans-racially adopted children will involve some issues that would not be involved in parenting a child of the same race as you, I think you can provide a good home, regardless of differences in ethnicity.

Answer 16

well look at the stars angelina jolie, madonna, ect. it didn't effect them right why should your family be any different????