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Open adoption is a good way for children to adjust to their surroundings without confusion. With open adoption a child has access to their biological parents, so the child wouldn't be confused about their roots. Alberta is the adoptive mother of preschool-age Jordan, whose birthmother is Christy. Alberta does a good job at explaining this situation. "Openness facilitates the rate at which adoption information is absorbed by the preschool-age child. Jordan is not confused-quite the opposite. She knows who her mommy is Alberta, but she also knows who her birthmother is. Because she personally knows Christy and sees her periodically, this is not confusing; rather it is real" (Silber & Dorner, 51). For the adopted child, an open adoption would provide quick and easy answers to life's normal questions. With the knowledge that adoptive parents retain from the biological parents, the adoptive parents are better equipped to respond to their children's questions. These questions would go unanswered if a closed adoption had taken place. This confusion of roots could lead to many problems with the child later on in life. "In contrast, in traditional adoption the child hears the term adoption and may know he grew in someone else's womb, but since everything is unknown it is unreal, harder to comprehend, and confusing frequently resulting in anxieties, as well as fantasies about the unknown and mysterious birthmother" (Silber & Dorner, 52). Therefore, open adoption makes the adoption process "real" for the child, not fake. To the child the how's and why's of an adoption are understandable because the adoptive parents are able to explain to their child about their roots.
Another part of a successful adoption is being comfortable with the process and the outcome, especially for the birth parents. "Birth parents who experience open adoption are much more at peace with their adoption decision and are better able to process their feelings of grief" (Silber & Dorner, 15).
