Children of all ages need adopting, but most will be over 5 years old. Few will be infants (0-3 years).

Children who need adopting often:

• need to be adopted with brothers and sisters
• have both physical and learning disabilities
• come from varied cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds

Many of the children will have experienced difficulties in their birth family which will require patience and understanding to overcome. This could include mental or physical illness in parents. They may have suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse or neglect.

All will have had at least one change of carer, sometimes several. They will need time to establish trust and an emotional bond.

Many children will have memories of their birth family, which are important. Children who understand that they are adopted from an early stage have been shown to accept their status and to be well adjusted.