Adoption Photolisting

Before you can possibly know what you want from the adoption community, you'll need to know what it has to offer. By using adoption photolistings to look through the photos and bios of babies and children available from private, public and international agencies, you can get a better idea of who the waiting adoptable children are.

Sure, it's slim to none that you're going to actually adopt the cute gap-toothed, dimple-cheeked child grinning at you from the computer screen. But one of the greatest advantages of a photolisting is that they can connect you with the agency that posted the photolisting.

It's easy to fall in love with those adorable photos of children waiting for adoption. These are more useful for older child adoptions, which can include informative biographies about the child's hobbies and behavioral habits. However, parents shouldn't get glassy-eyed over these bios as they barely scratch the surface of a child's complexity. Often, older children up for adoption have physical, mental or emotional disabilities not listed in the bio.

Baby adoption photolistings are a little less informational, as babies are too young to have developed any qualities that make them behaviorally and socially unique. There are some details that can help a couple understand a child's developmental habits, such as the Apgar score.

International adoption photolistings are either vague or nonexistent. China, for example, may not present a couple with the photo of the adoptable child until he or she has been assigned with the adoptive parents.