ADOPTION

Adoption is the legal, social and psychological method of providing a family for children, who
have lost their natural parents or who cannot be reared by them for various reasons. Adoption as a legal
proceeding of the courts, establishes filial relationship between persons who are not related by blood,
through adoption, the child in effect becomes a permanent member of the adopting family.

Though this act of adoption we are serving two needs-one-the need of the child to have a home,
loving care and attention of parents and all comforts for harmonious physical, mental and emotional
development.

Two- the need of a childless couple, (in the Indian context- because rarely do couples with
children adopt), to cherish love and fill them home with all the happiness that caring for a child brings.

What are the legal provisions provided by the Indian legal frame work? We find that for ages,
amongst Hindus, the idea of adopting a child namely a son has been prevalent. The principal motivation
is of spiritual benefit, so that the adopted son may give oblations to the father after his death and save
his soul. However, the law of adoption for the Hindus was awfully dissimilar and uncertain, a different
schools of Hindu law followed different authorities which were in their turn interpreted differently by
the Hindu law commentators and the courts.

A need was felt for uniformity in the rules of adoption and this resulted in the passing of the
Hindu adoptions and maintenance act, 1956 which governs Buddhist, Jains, Sikhs and other reformist
sects of Hinduism.

Vital changes inducted in this act were:

1. A daughter could also be adopted.

2. A person having no child could adopt a son and a daughter.
3. A bachelor and a spinster can adopt children.
4. There should be a minimum difference of 21 years between age of adopting parent and
child.
5. The adopted child should not be more than 15 years of age.
6. The adopted child should not be married or adopted previously.

Other religion, like Christians and Muslims do not recognize adoption. However, what is
happening now is, they apply to the court for guardianship of the child under
guardianship and wards act,1890. This is how foreign adoptions are also being handled.
The foreign nationals apply for guardianship of the child with a further prayer for leave,
to take the child out of India with a view to adopting the child according to the law of the
country of the applicant.
 There is however, no legal provisions for non-Hindus to adopt a child and hence
the Government of India in 1972, moved an adoption bill, which is still making its rounds
in our Parliament.

The adoption bill is a secular measure, a civil of adoption, applicable to all

citizens of India and foreigners introspective of religion or nationality/

The primary object of this Bill is to secure not spiritual welfare of the parents but
to secure the temporal betterment of the child. This measure is in pursuance of the
uniform civil code enjoined by article 44 of the Indian Constitution.

The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration of the court while
permitting adoption.

Every adoption will be through the court and be registered. This bill enables a
child adopted by a foreigner to be clothed in legitimacy when it crosses the Indian border.

Salient feature of the Adoption bill and how it differ form the Hindu law:-

1. Age limit of child to be adopted has been enhanced to 18 years.

2. Provides for passing of an interim order for giving the care and custody of the
child to the applicant, pending the passing of the final adoption order.
3. Court calls for follow-up reports on the child and can also enforce production of
the child before it if there are allegations of ill-treatment.
4. Bill provides for licensing of welfare institutions and for calling reports form
national institutions regarding the propriety of the applicant’s prayer.
The adoption bill was unfortunately withdrawn by the Government of India in
july1978 and is lying in cold storage due to opposition to the bill by a minority
community, which argues that their holy scriptures do not recognize legal
adoption. However, this community overlooks the fact that there is no compulsion
in this bill and that the measure is purely enabling in measure like the special
Marriage Act. This bill was sponsored by a number of voluntary organizations
and was expected to be passed before the end of 1978, which was the
international Children’s year.
The social worker plays an important role in the adoption situation. firstly
our work begins with the unwed mother or the mother who under much distress,
wishes to give up her child. We must explain the implications of giving up a child
and assist her make a right decision and overcome the complying feeling of guilt.
Our role should be to reassure the mother, so that she accepts her decision and is
able to live with it.
Secondly, and equally important is our contact with the adoptive parents,
who generally adopt a child because they are unable to have one of their own. We
must study their motivation, their medical history and their keenness and prepare
them to accept a child unknown lineage. A number of sessions with the couple
will reveal many of their fears and anxieties and enable them to understand the
implications of adopting a child in many instances, make them decide even
against it. We must explain that the child must be told the truth about his
adoption as he will face a traumatic situation if he bears about it in later years
form someone other than his parents.
As social workers, we must see that every child adopted has a legal status.
Only after the court passes the final decree should the adoptive parent gain
custody of the child. A legal status to the child means the same rights of
inheritance as a natural child and also makes his adoption irreversible.
International Adoptions seems to be on the rise in India and not a day
passes when we do not read a Lawyer’s notice in the newspapers about the
application filed by a foreign couple for the guardianship of a child.
Today in Sweden, where the largest number of our homeless waifs find
there are over 10,000 Indian children’s smaller numbers live in Italy, Denmark,
U.S.A, Germany and Switzerland.
International adoption is a rather controversial subject, with many things
being said in its favor and against it but what today is the general opinion of those
who work in this field is that inter-country adoption can never be more than the
third best alternative for the child. It is always best for the child to live with his
biological family if it can offer the child emotional security and reasonable living
conditions. If the child cannot stay with his parents, the possibilities of adoption
in the child’s own county should be investigated. But if neither of the best
alternatives
. Most is psychologically most difficult for these is possible, than a foreign
adoptions a child from another country is not the fact that he is of foreign
extraction, but that he has been abandoned by his biological parents, that they
have given him away. This knowledge is something that the child must learn to
live with, whether be grows up in and institution or adoptive family at home or
abroad.

“SINGLE-CHILD” FAMILY
Introduction

Childhood begins when the relative dependency of babyhood is over at approximately the
age of two years and extends to the time when the child becomes sexually mature at
approximately thirteen years for the girl child and fourteen years for the male child, childhood
experiences are pleasant movements in one’s life. People describe nature is beautiful; music is
melodies to those who have not heard the babbling speech of child. There is nothing great,
nothing beautiful; nothing gives more happiness than a child. Childhood experiences are the
building blocks of one’s personality. It determines one’s later part of life and it has significant on
the growth and development of the child.

Family and Child

One of the most important functions of the family is ‘procreation of children’ and not
procreation of one child. Nurturing, developing the personality of the offspring is the primary
obligations of the family because they are the descendants of the family. In this paper the authors
focusing on the “impact of single-child on the individuals and the family”.

The number of children in a family has significantly reduces in most developed countries
and getting reduced in developing countries, because as a result of family planning measures to
control the population explosion. The number of children in family has ultimate influence on
child bearing practice and patterns and social, psychological, political and economic
development of any child.

Single-Child in Indian scenario

The population of India has increased remarkably in the last several decades. India came
to know its population explosion at first in 1911. It was quite alarming and threatening the
country’s development in terms of health sector as well as other sectors. During the pre-
independence period India’s population was 30 crores. In 2001, it was 1billion, almost rippled in
fifty years. In response to this rapid growth. The Indian government has advocated and
vigorously enforced policy of “one family one child” there has been need for such family
planning measures since 1980’s. Thus young people are encouraged to marry at the age of 18 for
females and 21 for males. From the perspective of population control devices, economic rewards
and monetary benefits different kinds have given to family with single-child or Two children.

It can be said that urban areas have more families with single child than rural areas. The
reason may be rural families having more children means that having more children deep rooted
in agricultural society for their occupation purpose and varied reasons. Indian society
traditionally valued having more children.

Clinically it was found that many parents tended to indulge their only children
particularly boys. There was common concern among school teachers and mental health
professional that ‘single-children’ were spoiled by parents and that tend to manifest in certain
behaviour problems the influence of the number of children and birth order on child development
and on mental health attracted the academicians, clinicians and researchers in the recent past. It
has been hypothesized that only child has an ill effect on the development of personality in
contrast with being a child with siblings.

Behaviour of the children without siblings was manifested differently in different stages
from pre-school children, schoolchildren and pre-adolescent and adolescent children.

PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVES ON SINGLE CHILD

The research studies have shown that as the single child grows older, the scores of
behaviour problems get decreased significantly and the maturity of single child increases with
the increase in age. The single children had more problems during the pre-school period. In a
study carried out by J.B. Gilmore and Edward Zilger to determine how birth order was tied up
with a need for approval or reward. They found that eldest were more dependent on
encouragement and praise from others when they were under stress than were later children in
the families studied. The investigators suggest that perhaps eldest, who were “ only children” in
their earliest years, became accustomed to emotional support from their parents and are therefore
when frustrated when such support is absent, because so much is expected of him.

The absence of opportunities for children learn from each other’s emotions is a
disadvantage. The stereotype of only child that he is selfish and spoiled child too. Often
inaccurate as far as selfish with material things is concerned. The necessity for sharing attention
is harder for him to accept. The spoiling an only child may suffer from is likely to be an
interference with his drive to do for himself. His capacity to be independent may be ‘spoiled’ or
at least the development of that capacity may be slowed down. When there is only child in the
family, parents may give him more protection than he needs.

WHAT DO LITERATURES SAY ABOUT SINGLE CHILD?

A British psychiatrist Dr. [Link], while discussing about only child in his book
“The child, The family and The outside world” he narrates that for all children the big difficulty
is the legitimate expression of hate and the only child’s relative lack of opportunity for
expressing the aggressive side of his nature is a serious thing. Children who grow up together
play games of all kinds and so have a chance to come to terms with their own aggressiveness
and they have a valuable opportunity for discovering on their own that they mind when they
really hurt some one they love. Another disadvantage of single child is that he tends to be so
much in the company of adults and is so eager to have their approval that he finds is hard to enter
into the play and the conspiracies of his contemporaries. He is likely to be serious and over
conscientious and as a result of his anxiety over doing wrong things, he may be somewhat timid.
 Regarding the only child Elen Beck (1977) said that parents with only child might be
appreciated. She sees the world has crowded with few distinguished and successful people and
compared with being a sibling. Only children are “achieving people”. Beck believes if fewer
children then there would be fewer problem and the siblings may inevitably create trauma.
According to Ray (1980) the only child also influences the parents in behaviour and their impact
on children. Lasko (1952) found that generally over concerned about their only child. Their
attempts to being good parents often results in more destructiveness, coerciveness and
restrictiveness towards their only child. Henry (1957) observed that father assumes a more
vigorous role in disciplining his only child.

Impact of single child on society

If only child norm is mandatory, government measures suggest that to go for female
child. This can be seen in most government publications, advertisements, and posters. Generally
parents they want do not prefer female child, they prefer to have male child. There is a belief that
the parents attain salvation only through “son”. In such situation if parents happen to get female
child then there will be possibility for more female feticide and infanticide in the society, which
leads to reduction in female population. It may be one of the impact of having “single child
norm”.

Secondly, parents are anxious about activities of their only child with regard to exposing
the child to risk/ difficult activities. They tend to prevent to take part in such activities. Some
parents are scared to allow their only child with other children in anticipation of any misshape.
They always try to keep him happy. Both parents and the only child are vulnerable to get
psychological problems.

Mental health of the single children and non-single children

Tao.K.T (2004) studied mental health of the single children through the four stages of
development( pre school children, school children, pre-adolescent and adolescent children)
comparing to non-single children. He found that there were no singnificant differences among
the boys throughout the four stages of development. They showed similar patterns of reduction
in behaviour problems throughout the stages. However there were significant differences for
single girls versus non-single girls. The girls without siblings had scored high over all behaviour
problems when compared to girls with siblings. The study concluded that effect of being a
“single child” is prominent for girls but not for boys.

Expected internalizing behaviour problems in “single child”

[Link] to adult

[Link] of loneliness

3. does not eat well

But the studied showed when they reached school and adolescents period they problem reduced
due to socialization at school.

Expected internalizing behaviour problem in ‘non-single child’

1. Screaming
2. Swearing
3. Getting into fights and attacking others are more in non-single boys than single boys. The
common behaviour problems were destroying things at home, getting teased a lot, acting
too young for her age restless. Temper tantrums, nail biting, talking in sleep.

The study also found that parents with single boy often permitted the boys to be involved in
social activity after school in turn these children got benefited in social relation and enjoyed. But
this improvement was not seen in single girl children.

One reason could be parents’ attitude toward gender preferences. The reason why parents
of single girl child tend to ask their girl child to stay at home when they reach adolescents
because for the sake of their-protection. The second reason could be the impact on rural and
urban living arrangement and environment. Girls living rural environment will be more exposed
to healthy socialization with peers and adults.

Towards single child the parents may have

1. Over protection
2. Over indulgence
3. Over concern
4. High expectation
5. More worries when the single child gets any illness
6. There is no teaching of sharing
7. No habit cultivation in sharing things, feelings and actions.

Negative view of the ‘single child’

1. Spoiled child
2. Selfish child
3. Lonely child
4. Maladjusted child

Assumptions of single-child

1. It is assumed that the single child receives sufficient socialization experience after they
enter grade school and such experience of interesting with others.
2. Majority of single boys are relatively shyer and introvert than non-single boys.

Mental health and psychological factors of single children at adolescent age

Munakata et al (2003) examined psychosocial factors underlying the mental health problems of
single child of adolescent age in china.

Findings of the study