Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 8, 1954 Page: 37 of 48
forty eight pages : ill. ; page 21 x 16 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
4
-
The best medicine for a sick child
j
most people interested in adoption think in ' her, cast and all. Three months later, the
4
. !
!
I
1-
4
couple telephoned the glad news that Pa-
tricia had improved so much, they were tak-
ing her out to buy her first pair of shoes.
Similarly, Peter spent his first four years
in a hospital ward with both his polio-crip-
Some of these children are adopted after
long and lonely bouts with disease. And,
often, just being part of a family proves to
be the very best medicine of all.
There is the case of Patricia, who was bom
with a malformed hip. Patricia spent the first
three years of her life hospitalized in a heavy
cast, and doctors saw little prospect of her
ever walking.
But finally the tot was adopted—by a hus-
band and wife who were thrilled to have
It’s Easier to Adopt an Older Child
(Continued)
being offered for adoption and then the adop-
tion fails, he's likely to decide the world has
rejected him again.
The adoptive parents of an older child must
even be prepared for the child's wanting to
keep the family name he’s used to. Suddenly
being forced to give up his name can be a
frightening thing to a child who has so little
- to set him apart as an individual. Later, when
the child accepts his new name easily and
without pressure, it’s a very good indication
that he’s getting to feel at home with his
new mother and dad.
Strangely enough, a little temper tantrum
may also mean he's beginning to feel secure
in his new surroundings. Only the young-
ster who’s afraid of being punished and per-
haps sent away will behave like an auto-
maton, putting all his toys neatly away and
always remembering to wash for dinner.
A backlog of older children exists because
older children available. Certainly, for cou-
ples at this higher age level, the older child
will be more nearly the age their own natural
offspring would have been. And the older
person often lacks the resiliency needed to
cope with an infant
Of the total number of youngsters placed
for adoption, one agency reports that one
child in ten is above the age of two. Another
says that almost one out of every three of
its placements are older children.
terms of acquiring babes-in-arms. Only rare-
ly, the agencies say, will a young couple even
consider a child more than a year old.
But if you’re over 35, most agencies will
try to interest you in adopting one of the
pled legs in braces. The first few nights after
he was adopted, he would wake up crying,
“Where’s the ward? Take me back to the
hospital!"
Today Peter is stronger and has lost his
hospital pallor. He gets around with a brace
on just one leg and surgery will soon enable
him to walk normally.
Right now a New York agency is seeking
foster parents for a deaf little boy and a girl
who has diabetes.
How successful are these adoptions of older
children? Agencies report that placements
“work out extremely well" with youngsters
up to about ten years of age. The Child Wel-
fare League expresses the "deep conviction
that no child is too old for adoption as long
as he wants and needs parents.”
• At present, Ohio and one or two other
states have clearinghouses for information
on older adoptable children. Now the adop-
tion agencies are beginning to discuss crea-
tion of a national clearance service which
would locate loving parents in Iowa for the
little boy in Massachusetts, or a couple in
Ohio who would be overjoyed to have the
little girl in Texas.
Such a service would help fill the places
which today stand empty in the hearts and
homes of thousands of American families
who are unnecessarily childless.
16*
v ho,
3 nJ
AT PLAY. Welking in the park with the social .
w orker the bo y is unawere that the cou-
ple is sitting nearby. This permits them to »
observe the youngster while he is relaxed
and natural, and it protects him from disap
pointment if the adoption does not wort out.
THE FIRST MEETING. The boy is told the big secret
and conditioned for the first masting with
his prospective parents. Here again the park
is used, to mate this important meeting as
casual as possible. After his first shyness
wears off, the boy warms up to the friendly •
couple, and it’s almost "love at first sight."
HAPPY ENDING. Legal procedures must be carried
out before the adoption becomes final, but
during this waiting period the couple may visit
the boy regularly. Then comes the happy day
when the "parents" can take their new "son"
home for good. Just as if he were their own,
akg koMa ---0 * *---- w-JI
TWw DOY WU OvrVe‘ VVOV WV09 “n VneY 1W%e
FAMILV wEEKLV MAGAZINE AuGUST S. IS
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 5, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 8, 1954, newspaper, August 8, 1954; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1430861/m1/37/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Denton Public Library.