Children who are adopted may sometimes believe that they are fortunate to have been chosen and to have an opportunity to experience all that a permanent family can offer. Some recent reports may now show that children who have joined a family through adoption may benefit in a surprising way as well. Maryland adoptive families or those who may be considering adoption could be interested in the newly published study.
According to data that was compiled through the efforts of several agencies, including the United States Census Bureau, children who have been adopted tend to live with at least one parent with a high level of education, especially a graduate degree. Children who live in blended families also seem to have a slightly higher percent of having at least one parent with a higher level of education, though not necessarily at a graduate level. Of the three categories tabulated, biological children had the highest percentage of parents who did not earn a high school diploma.
The report was composed of data that had been collected over the past several years and included other information, such as composition of family ethnicities and marital status. The most interesting data, however, is the fact that this report appears to show that children who have been adopted are in the minority category, with fewer than 3 percent of children in the study being adopted. However, those same children seem to have a much higher economic and possibly educational advantage over both stepchildren and children who are living with their biological families.
The report, while enlightening in some aspects, cannot possibly predict what each family and their children may accomplish in the future. As many families here in Maryland may have discovered, the joys of raising children, whether through adoption or more conventional means, are priceless. Parents do not have to attain a graduate degree to know that children need loving, supportive homes. There are many resources available that can offer information to those parents who are seeking to provide a child with a stable and permanent family structure. Whether that child may be a complete stranger to them, or the offspring of a new spouse, the decision to want to positively impact the lives of children can be immensely rewarding to all.
Source: goldrushcam.com, “U.S. Census Bureau Reports Adopted Children More Likely to Live in Highly Educated Homes”, , April 24, 2014