A reader found Adoption Under One Roof using the search phrase:

every able person adopted one child

I suspect the thought behind this search phrase was, if every able person adopted one child, could we empty out the foster care homes and orphanages around the world? Perhaps the answer would be yes. Would I support this type of initiative? No.

Before you accuse me of being a cold-hearted and unfeeling person, let me explain why … I think adopting for a cause is a bad idea, whether we are talking about adopting children, dogs, cats, or guinea pigs. Adopting a child is not a political statement or a social statement. Unless your underlying motivation for adopting a child is because you truly want to parent a child (or another child), adopting a child is going to be a mistake.

Sweeping statements like “every able person should adopt one child” sound great in theory. If you can afford to take care of a foster child and that child needs a home, why not? The problem is that a foster child is not looking to be anyone’s “cause.”