Are you for or against step parent adoption? Why?

Question

I need interviews for an essay I am writing. Please help me come up with pros and cons I may have missed :) thanks

also please include your age thanks

Answer 1

I am for if the other parent is not involved. I think if the step parent wants to become a legal parent of that child then more power to them. Not everybody have a fairy tale life and the kids can't help if one of the parents are not involved, so hence the adoption. I just don't see why someone would be against it since it is when the other parent has no right to the kid(s).

Answer 2

I feel if the father or mother are not involved in the child's life what so ever, than that can be an option for the step-parent to adopt. In some cases the mother or father gives up physical custody, so in essence they have stated to the court and to the child they do not want to be in their lives. I think that the option for a step-parent to adopt should be up to the child if they are old enough to understand what it means. Otherwise that child's parent should make the step-parent a legal guardian in case of death or emergency.

Answer 3

8 years ago, my husband adopted my 10 year old son. My son never had anything to do with his "bio" dad.(he & I were together in high school I got pregnant feb. of sr. year. long story short, I told my boyfriend that I knew he had a promising future in hockey and I didn't want him to feel like "we" held him back. I let him go and never once regretted my decision.)ANYWAY....My son only really had MY dad as a role model. I We lived with my parents and my 6 year old brother(my parents were VERY young when they had my older brother, younger brother and I, then waited to have my youngest brother.) By the time my son came along, my parents were very "relaxed" parents. I worked 3 jobs so my son spent a lot of time with them and my brother. He really had no set "rules" except to eat his dinner, do his homework and go to bed at a decent hour. FLASH FORWARD- My husband was GREAT with my son right from day one and my son loved him. BUT as my son got older and into his teenage years, my husband wanted to set more and more rules. My son didn't like that and I usually sided with my son because I always felt like I was never "there" for him when he was younger. This caused BIG problems for my husband and I and we almost divorced over it. I think if the step parent is going to adopt it needs to be done BEFORE the child is say 7 or 8.
ALSO, I think the parent has to agree that the decisions concering the said child HAVE to be mutual. No "this is MY child and you have to understand." This creates a "ganged up on" feeling for the step parent. No matter what the situation, the parents need to be a united front.
I can't say there is any real PRO or CON since every situation is different.If I were going to base my answer on my own situation, I would say I'm against it. Not through any fault of my husbands...but through mine. I couldn't separate my need to be "loved" by my son and seem like the "cool" mom from my son's need to see that he had TWO parents that acted as one. He used the situation to his advantage and as he got to be a young adult became a MASTER manipulator.
I'm 37 my son is 19 my husband is 34. ( we also have 6 and 4 yr old boys together)

Answer 4

some couples want the step parent to adopt so that they do not have to deal with an x and they will also do anything it takes including lie, bribe child services or ask an old family friend that works for the court house to help even if they have to pay the friend to help! I know the state of Iowa has a few judges and other court personnel like that including Iowa child-services workers needing or wanting a little extra$$$$

Answer 5

I am so for it. I am 28 and engadged. This will be my 2nd marriage and I had 2 children in my first marriage. My fiance is adopting my children (they are 3.5 months old and 22 months old) and may be put on the gaurdianship with me on my 3.5 year old niece that lives with us and I will be adopting his kids (their mother died 4 years ago). I am for it because I feel that every child should have a mother and father and even if it's adopted, it's still okay. I believe in adoption because as I said, every child deserves a mother. My ex doesn't want a thing to do with his daughters and we recently had a big dispute about child support.Hope you get an A on that essay!
~Taylor Age: 28

Answer 6

I think it depends on the relationship between step-parent and child. if they are very close and they both want the adoption to happen, go for it. another thing to take into consideration is the fact that if the bio-parent is active in the child life there's not much chance of a judge allowing the adoption. the bio-parent would have to give up his or her rights to the child, or have them severed by a judge because of various reasons.

my mom was adopted by her step-dad when she was eighteen because even though her bio-dad wasn't in the picture and lived across the country from her he would not give up his rights to her so she had to wait until she was an adult legally to be adopted by her dad.

being adopted by her step-dad caused many problems for her with her bio-dads family. they all stopped talking to her. it wasn't until she had my oldest brother that her paternal grandparents, aunt, and uncle finally started talking to her again.

while the situation with my mother's bio-family might not be ideal I doubt that she regrets being adopted by her real dad.

Answer 7

Okay, this SAME thing happened to me, but I was like, a really small baby when it happened... anyway, my biological dad abandoned me (and my mother) the moment that she told him she was pregnant. He denied me, and wanted a paternity test. The test confirmed the obvious! Then, after about 2 months, my mom met my step dad! He loved my mom (duh!!) and me from the moment he saw me! When I was 3, my mom and step dad got married, told my bio dad and he willingly gave up all parental rights. I am now 15 and have been legally adopted for 12-ish years. I call my step dad "Dad" because he is the only dad that has ever really been there for me! I love him!!
So, yes! I am definitely PRO step parent adoption!

Answer 8

I am totally for it. My son's non-father has said that he doesn't want to be bothered unless my son is on his death bed. He owes us $10,000 in child support. My son is three years old and his non-father is not allowed anywhere near him. He has no visitation.

I've known my current boyfriend for 7 years. Should we happen to get married he is well aware of the fact that I would like him to adopt my son. He's been around my son a lot. He's very patient with him. He's caring. I suspect he already thinks of himself as my son's father figure.

I think that when biological parents don't want to be involved and a step parent wants the to be a part of it than it's great.

Answer 9

i am an adoptee i am 58.
I think adopted parents are great. i had a wonderful set. it was better then being raised with my bio parents and being abused and stuff. i was the lucky one. my two sisters were raised by him and his wife (step mom) she was mean and they treated the girls horrible. she was with the grandma but she couldn't care for them all the time. it was sad.don't call them step parents because they aren't step parents are usually not picking out the kdis they are stuck with them and therefore most of them are mean to the kids. now that they are adopted the parents pick the kids out and take good care of them.

Answer 10

For it, it takes a real woman or man to rasie a child that not there. My biologial father was never in my life my step father took me in like i was his own his out of town family never knew not even my grandma! I wan never treated any different i got the same treatment as my brother and sister. My step father never missed prom, graduation, bithday, or christmas. and i think him so much for that