In my earlier post I had raised a question, "What if a whole generation decides to not to conceive?", but in this post I want to modify that question along with presenting statistical data and evidence for why should this be done and how it can be made possible.
Before talking about how to make it possible it's essential to see the statistics on adoption and population growth provided by different NGOs and the UN, respectively.
Population has doubled in the last 30 years in Asia and Africa specifically and is rising, depleting the natural and man made resources alike, thus there is a need to control our population unless we want to exhaust our resources.
The population growth at the moment is above 1%, which makes it an ideal time period to think about a radical movement of mind and spirit that together we can bring about a change.
Median age of the population is 30 at the moment and again it is the ideal age to think about raising children*.
While in US there are 0.135 million children being adopted each year, in India the figure is a mere 0.003 million and is declining constantly. The more heart wrenching figures are the number of abandoned children in India which are 30 million as estimated in 2017, and probably rising at this very moment. Startlingly, the number of infertile couples seeking a child is approx 27 million**.
It therefore, seems that we (especially Asia and Africa) are at a juncture in global history, which is ripe for making a decision and a commitment towards choosing adoption that brings me to how to make that transition.
Role of social media in highlighting the good aspects of adoption
We live in an age where decisions and opinions are best affected through social media. It is thus important to address the crucial role that social media and big data shall play in making it possible.
We may try to nudge people in the direction of choosing adoption with free will by showing them the positive aspects of adoption and removing their fears and apprehensions about it. Some of those are as follows:
1. Stronger and robust bonds between parents and child due to the following#:
- Children living with adoptive parents have been better taken care of by parents.
- Adopted children spend more time with their adoptive parents.
- The relationship between the child and parent is much better than they had expected even after the child is aware about being adopted.
- Most importantly people who have adopted would want to adopt again if given a chance.
2. Better parenting
Adoption means that parents would be held accountable to their children's growth and because they are making an informed and committed choice they would be spending more time in equipping themselves with the necessary skills of parenting, which many biological parents would not get the time for.
Also, the general public opinion is that parents and their family would not treat the child as their own because they aren't genetically related. But what is the guarantee that even the biological children would be treated fairly. Aren't there disparities that exist in how female versus male child is raised?
3. Imparting a healthy lifestyle
Another big concern is to address the nature versus nurture question. A lot many people would be doubtful in adoption because they won't be passing on their genes and so won't be sure as to how the child would turn up. This issue gets addressed by bringing in neuroplasticity and the role of environment in shaping the growth of a child into picture.
Our brains are plastic enough to adapt and learn from the environment therefore, genes which nonetheless do play a role, but are less important than the lifestyle that only the parents would be giving to the child.
4. Making it cool and acceptable
Remember how peer pressure works? Thankfully, a lot has been done in this direction by celebrities and people supporting the cause. Had it not been for Angelina Jolie, Sushmita Sen and Sunny Leone, people would not have been thinking how cool it is to adopt. The next step is to make it acceptable with general public and the more people would go for it the more feasible it would appear for people around them. It is therefore, important to raise a dialogue among youngsters and people of child bearing age to make them aware of this not only cool but noble option.
Support groups for awareness and assistance to prospective parents
Mentoring and teaching general public as to how to deal with psychological issues that may arise during and after adoption. The families who have adopted can take up this role well. I read about how there are Whatsapp groups for prospective parents and how they get emotional support along with the plaguing questions that keep coming to them when it comes to going for a legal procedure as complex as adoption.
Streamlining of the expensive and chaotic legal procedure for adoption
All would be in vain without the legal procedures being streamlined. The ordeal that most adoptive parents go through is no less than the pains of child birth and the wait is always more than 9 months. There is a need of active participation of advocates in creating a simpler and less exhausting procedure for adoption. I would request all the lawyers who read this to please contribute in this direction by providing suggestions as to how this can be achieved.
Lastly the more we try to feel how unique each of us are, the more we forget of the similarities; the similarities exist in our thoughts and the feelings, the awe and wonder along with empathy and gushing compassion that rises within us when we look at a child.
It would be through our similar patterns of emotional thinking and the similar problems that we face (pain, loneliness, injustice along with need for belonging, validation and appreciation), which would make us realize how united we all are in our thoughts in trying to make a change of this magnitude happen; a thought followed by an action of commitment, which would be remembered for generations to come.
So, here is my question to you all, what if a whole generation decides to adopt?
Do we have it in us to make it happen?
Surprisingly the answer is yes, it is and if a whole generation, i.e., our generation does decide to adopt then there is a big chance that many of the world's problems would be solved.
All illustrations are made using Microsoft PowerPoint.
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