Surely, it’s ironical that in a country with the world’s largest child population — 165 million of India’s children are below five years of age — and millions of them orphaned, abandoned and experiencing dreadful, joyless childhood experiences, a mere 3,142 were adopted in 2020-21 when the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated their pathetic condition.
It’s not that Indians are averse to adopting children. According to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) — a subsidiary of the Union ministry of women and child development — 26,000 prospective adoptive parents have been waiting to adopt children for several years. Adopting a child in India is a tedious, long drawn-out process mired in red tape and delay. Prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) have to jump through hoops of numerous archaic rules and regulations for three-four years.
In October last year, a group of 250 PAPs wrote to Union women and child development minister Smriti Irani demanding urgent reforms in adoption norms in light of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic having orphaned over 30,000 children countrywide. The group demanded that the process is made faster and transparent against swelling illegal adoptions and trafficking of children orphaned by the pandemic.
Indian society has a curious love-hate relationship with adopted children, and families that adopt them. Exaggerated importance is given to genetics and there is bewilderment when couples who already have biological children adopt. Nevertheless, with the rapid expansion of the middle class and a rising number of women deferring child birth to focus on their careers, there is a sharp rise in the number of couples and single men and women availing the adoption option. Moreover, hybrid families comprising biological and adopted children are becoming commonplace.
However, in this issue of ParentsWorld, our focus is not on the pressing need for reform of child adoption laws. It is on what parents who have braved and completed the process need to do to make adopted children welcome, comforted and loved in their new homes. Our panel of experts provides professional advice on best ways to integrate adopted children into new home environments — when to let adopted children learn the truth, fielding questions about birth parents and siblings, to enabling them to cope with self-identity crises and strategies to bond with adopted children.
Also check out the Early Childhood story on comforting colicky infants and Middle Years feature detailing the positive development of males transforming into hands-on parents during the pandemic. Moreover, a special essay advising parents on how to talk to children about contemporary tragedies such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is highly recommended.
