Creating an Adoption Profile
Your adoption profile is usually the one thing an expectant mother views when deciding whether or not to select you to be the parents of her baby. Spend time on it and make it a quality representation of you and your family.
From learning adoption terminology to participating in a home study, there are many steps along the path to adopting a child. One of these steps is creating an adoption profile book that birth mothers will view. For many couples, this can be an exciting but challenging task.
We understand the important role that adoption profiles play in connecting birth mothers to the right family. As an adoption agency, we know what adoption profiles that get picked looked like and are here to help you create yours. Let’s get started!
How do I start creating an adoption profile?
Adoption profiles are meant to be welcoming and visually appealing. A great place to start is selecting a website design service you want to use to create your book. Fortunately, there are lots of online photo book design services available. With a service like Mixbook, Picaboo, Shutterfly or Snapfish, you can customize your adoption profile book from start to finish. These allow you to choose the colors, patterns, fonts and other details that will add to your adoption profile’s overall feel.
Once you have decided on a service, pick a photobook template. Be mindful of the book’s size. Select one that is about the size of a standard 8×11 sheet of paper. Otherwise, shipping becomes a problem.
An important factor to keep in mind is the requirements of the adoption agency you are utilizing. Ordering and sending digital photo books is simple. But some agencies request multiple hard copies of your adoption profile book. Check with the agency in advance, so you have plenty of time to order the books in the required size and quantity.
What should I write about in my adoption profile?
The message you convey to a birth mother can make all the difference in her decision. That is why creating an authentic and honest portrayal of yourself, your family and your life is crucial. There are some basic elements that adoption profiles should cover. These include:
- Your names, ages and location
- How long you have been together
- Your personalities (we’ll discuss this more in a moment)
- Your family and close friends
- A description of your home life and the community you live in
Here are some helpful tips to implement when writing your adoption profile:
Rather than writing what you think a birth mother wants to hear, write an honest description of yourself and your partnership. Canned responses and overused phrases won’t bring about an emotional connection. Be real and open about yourself and the life you want to create for your future child.
Include descriptive language that paints a picture of who you are. Little details make all the difference in creating a great adoption profile. For instance, instead of just saying “we love to travel”, talk about a specific and meaningful trip you took. You could write “One of our favorite places to visit is Chile because we both studied abroad there in college. We visit once a year and it is a family tradition to hike to a waterfall on the last day of the trip.”
Be mindful of the tone of your message. When you describe your relationship as a couple, you might write about each other rather than about yourselves as individuals—and that way you brag about the other person without sounding egotistical.
How do I organize an adoption profile?
Every family profile is unique, and there is no golden adoption profile example that everyone must follow. But there is a generally accepted way to organize an adoption profile book. These guidelines can help you organize your adoption profile in a clean and easy to follow format.
Start with an informal message to the expectant parents. Remember that an expectant mother (or an expectant couple) going through lots of emotions will be reading your adoption profile. Take the time to make them feel valued. You might acknowledge their courage, for example, in choosing an adoption plan.
Next, briefly describe yourselves and your lives. Show your personality and your fun side. No one relates to stuffy photos— be your informal, everyday self. This is a great opportunity to mention what a day or week in your life includes. Some couples share a bit about their professional lives and passions. Another great addition to the adoption profile is a fun facts section that lists achievements and interesting details about you and your significant other.
Talk about your careers, your pets, and your hobbies. Some families choose to include a “favorites list” like favorite movies, favorite foods, etc. Discuss any memorable family traditions you might have and anything notable about your extended family. You might discuss your home and community and what kind of parents you are or hope to be.
Discuss your relationship with children. If you don’t have a child, talk about your experiences interacting with kids. Are you considered an honorary aunt or uncle by close family friends? Do you have nieces and nephews that you love spending time with? Do you volunteer and work with children? Talk about what you enjoy about these experiences.
If you have a child already, be sure to include them in your adoption profile. Talk about the things you do together, their personality and how you and your partner are raising your child. You can even touch on parenting styles in this section.
Be open about future plans. What are the goals that your family is hoping to achieve? Whether you have educational goals or plans to change career fields, sharing what the future looks like helps a birth mother envision what your family looks like down the road. Be sure to speak about how a child will fit into these future plans and your commitment to family, no matter what the future holds.
Above all, you want to paint a picture for the expectant parents to show them what the child’s life will be like. No pressure!
What pictures work best in adoption profiles?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. For expectant mothers browsing potential families, pictures are an invaluable part of adoption profiles. They allow the viewer to picture the life the child would have as part of your family.
Like the text, photos should convey your personality and lifestyle. Include pets, your home, your hobbies and activities, and several that show your faces clearly.
Here are a few tips for choosing photos for your adoption profile:
Quality matters. Make sure to use photos that are in focus and well lit. Dark, grainy or otherwise low-resolution images are not ideal.
Include fun captions to give more meaning to the photos. Explain who is in the photo, where the photo was taken or what is taking place to add context. You don’t have to caption every photo. Just input them where they would add value to the birth mother.
Choose recent snapshots for an up to date profile. The pictures in your profile should include recent photos of you, your partner and your family. This will give the most accurate look at what life is like in the present. Include images of friends and family that you spend time with regularly rather than older photos of people that you don’t see often.
Browse other adoption profiles for inspiration. Your adoption profile should be a unique reflection of you and your family. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get ideas from other profiles. If you are unsure of what photos make for a great adoption profile, browse waiting families to see some great adoption profile examples.
Don’t want to do it? That’s OK, we can help.
For many adoptive families, creating their Adoption Profile is a fun and exciting task. But for those of you who are stressed at the thought of putting it together, we’re happy to refer you to a professional adoption profile designer. A professional can take this task off of your plate while you focus on the rest of the adoption process.