Although adopting a child requires as deep a commitment and causes at least as much change as giving birth to a baby, it has not been usual in the UK for there to be any ceremony to mark or celebrate the event. If the adopted child is a baby, a simple baby naming ceremony may be appropriate, but if the child is older, perhaps even a teenager, a different kind of ceremony may be more appropriate - one with much more input from the child, where the taking of the family name is recognised as the start of a new family relationship by all involved.

Some questions it is useful to ask in preparation for a joining ceremony are:-

• Does your child welcome the idea of a ceremony?
• What do you, your child and any other children you already have want for your life together?
• Do you/your child want to make any reference to their birth parents in the ceremony?
• Do you/your child want to give a part in the ceremony to any social workers or others who have helped to bring about the adoption?
• Do you/your child want her/him to have sponsors?
• What commitments do you want to make to your child?
• Does your child want to make commitments to you, their new brothers/sisters or the family as a whole?
• Do any other children you already have want to make any commitments, either to their new brother or sister or to the family as a whole?