With single parent households becoming increasingly more common and accepted, there has been a growing number of single parent adoptions. If you are thinking about adopting a child as a single parent, you will want to educate yourself not only on the adoptive process itself, but what that may specifically look like as a single adoptive parent.

Pre-Adoption 

If this is your first time being a parent, you will want to consider pre-adoption training to help prepare you for the journey you are about to embark on as a single parent. 

For domestic adoptions, there are resources offered by the adoption agency that can help educate you on the different challenges you may face when becoming a single adoptive parent, such as behaviors that can be common in adoptive children. Most courses are offered in person or in a remote format to accommodate all prospective adoptive parents. 

Building a Support System 

All parents need support, and as a single parent going through the trials and challenges of parenting alone, you will want to ensure that you have a strong support system. Start by looking at your relationships with family and friends, and determine whether you can trust them to provide emotional and physical support during the adoption process and while you navigate parenting.

Some questions to ask yourself include:

• Are you comfortable asking them for help?

• Are they supportive of your decision to adopt as a single parent?

• Who lives close enough and would be willing to provide help in a last minute situation? 

• Is there someone you trust to watch your child overnight?

• Is someone capable of taking care of your child if you are unable to due to work, sickness, or death?

• If you might adopt a child of the opposite sex, do you have someone that you trust that would be the same sex as the child and is willing to be a role model for the child if necessary?

If you are unsure, or want to make certain that you can answer those questions confidently, talk to friends and family and share with them as much information as you can about the adoption process and where you are at in it, as well as specific needs you foresee arising after bringing your child home. 

Once you evaluate your answers to those questions you may feel more prepared to continue with the adoption process, or you may want to work to strengthen and expand your support system before you adopt. 

For additional support outside of friends and family, it is recommended that you join a post adoption support group. This can help you find people that relate to your experiences as an adoptive parent, which something that you might feel is otherwise missing as a single adoptive parent.

Career and Financial Considerations

As a single parent you most likely have a fulltime job, so you want to consider what time and energy you will have available to put towards parenting responsibilities, such as cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, and playing. 

Addtionally, if you are concerned about finances already, then you may want to wait before pursuing adoption further. Adoption and raising a child are expensive, and you want to make sure you are financially capable of meeting both you and your child’s needs.

There are many successful single parent households. If you are looking into single parent adoption, educate yourself, build a strong support system, and carefully consider all the factors that could affect you and your adoptive child’s lives.