Increase in Age of Adoptive Parents

 Posted on August 26, 2013 in Children

There’s been quite a bit of buzz in the news lately about the aging population. In fact, it could be argued that the Baby Boomers haven’t made the news in quite this way since their teenage years—and the influx of trend stories does not seem to be slowing any time soon. According to Time magazine, citing statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "in 2010 the average life expectancy rose from 78.6 years in 2009 to 78.7 in 2010." But it’s not just that people are living longer—the real boon is that people are staying healthy longer, meaning that the final years of the average American’s life are not spent tied to a hospital bed in pain. David Cutler, the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard told Time that "where we used to see people who are very, very sick for the final six or seven years of their life, that’s now far less common. People are living to older ages and we are adding healthy years, not debilitated ones."  

There’s a lot people can do with the extra time on Earth, and one of them, interestingly enough, is to adopt. According to the Huffington Post, a significant number of Americans are "bucking the idea" that being 50 or 60 is too old to be a parent. Adam Perman, author of "Adoption Nation" told the Huffington Post that the "boomers’ embrace of adoption [is] ‘a trend that’s clearly happening,’ although he does not know of any group tracking the ages of adoptive parents." While there’s not yet research that has polled Boomer adoptions, Pertman believes that a significant contributing reason for this is that "the world has changed, but our biology hasn’t." Women are living well into their 80s, he said. "They can have a child when they are 50 and still live to see their grandkids."

And this could be good news for children who need adopting. Older parents, with more money, and, presumably, patience, "are very often happy—actually seek out—the adoption of an older child. This serves all parties and society," Pertman told the Huffington Post.

If you or someone you know is considering adoption, no matter your age, the most important first step is to seek the counsel of a qualified family law attorney. Contact our offices today.