In my Transracial Adoption ABCs, the letter "Q" is for questions. There are lots of questions involved in adoption. For the adoptive parents, there are many questions that they should ask (both themselves and others) and there are questions that they are going to be asked. In this post, I will write about the questions that transracial adoptive parents should be asking.

Questions to ask - Deciding to adopt transracially is a big deal, and it is not a decision that should be made light-heartedly. It is one that a lot of thought, research and preparation should be put into. There are many questions that adoptive parents should ask as they decide to pursue transracial adoption.

In many of these questions below you can follow this links to more questions and information on that topic.

General adoption questions:

- What is my motivation to adopt a child?

- Am I prepared for the risks involved with domestic adoption or with international adoption?

- Can I financially afford to adopt and to raise a(nother) child?

- Am I willing to consider an open adoption? Why or why not?

- What age child do I want to adopt?

- Am I open to any special needs?

- Am I open to adopting siblings?

-Would I be supportive of my child is he chooses to search out his birth family later in life?

- Have a put a lot of research into carefully choosing an adoption agency?

- Do I know that the agency and program that I have chosen are ethical?

- Do I understand how children are identified for this adoption program?

- Do I understand the laws, rules and regulations of this adoption program?




Questions specific to transracial adoption:

- Why do I want to adopt transracially?

- What races am I open to (or not?) Why?

- Am I prepared to forever be a part of a multiracial family?

- Am I willing and prepared to deal with racism and to prepare and teach my children about racism?

- Do I value culture as an important part of a person's life or do I think it is not a big deal?

- Do I believe in being "color aware" or "color blind"?

- Do I believe that lighter is better?

- Can I handle being a highly visible family that often receives a lot of attention when out in public?

- Am I prepared to incorporate another race/culture into my family and into my life?

- Am I prepared to handle negative reactions from family and friends?

- Do I understand why transracial adoption is a last resort for children?

- Am I willing to fully embrace the blessings and challenges of raising a child of a different race?

There are certainly other questions for adoptive parents to ask. Leave a comment and add to the list!