Parents' 'laughter and tears' at adopting siblings

Emma and Mike, from North Yorkshire, said they had always planned to adopt

A couple who adopted two children earlier this year have urged others to consider adoption too, amid concerns over the falling number of people coming forward to do so.

The Adoption Matters charity said it believed the cost of living may have contributed to a 12% drop in adoption registrations in England in 2025 compared to 2024.

Emma and Mike, from North Yorkshire, adopted their children - a brother and sister - in January after they had previously been in foster care for two and a half years.

Emma said: "There's so much loveliness in them being together and knowing they will always have each other - and we've just got the joy of being able to join in with that dynamic."

"It feels slightly heartbreaking that they had waited so long to find that forever family," Emma said.

"Adoption is intimidating. It can be overwhelming - but so is parenting generally."

Emma and Mike adopted a brother and sister at the start of 2025

Emma and Mike said they were passionate about sharing the message that adoption was not a secondary option.

"We don't want people to think that because we're an adoptive family it must be because it's biologically not possible," Emma explained.

"That was a factor, but actually, for us, that felt like it was confirming that adopting siblings is how our family is meant to be."

The couple said they had been shown videos of the children before meeting them at an "adoption activity day" where prospective parents were introduced to children.

"We hadn't spotted them yet, but Emma heard our son's giggle from across the room and it was really special getting to spend time with them," explained Mike.

"Emma turned to me and said, 'they have my heart', and it was just that moment where we thought, 'we're all in now, this is it'."

Emma and Mike said they wanted to share their story in the hope it would encourage more prospective parents to find out about adoption.

"The graph is going the wrong way," said Emma.

"The number of children needing a safe and forever family is increasing, while the number of people even willing to consider adoption is decreasing."

Emma said it had been an "absolutely wild" time since adopting the siblings

The most recent figures showed that in the Yorkshire and Humber region there were 390 children waiting for an adoptive family.

Jacqui Shore, from Adoption Matters, told the BBC that more families were "desperately needed".

"Traditionally in adoption we've seen peaks and troughs, but I don't think we've ever seen the cost of living quite as it is at the moment," she said.

"Local authorities are struggling for money, so in the past some older children or sibling groups might have attracted an adoption allowance from the local authority, but that's not always there anymore."

Emma and Mike said their experience of adoption had been very positive, with Emma saying they had not looked back since adopting their children 10 months ago.

"It's been absolutely wild, we've done so much learning," Emma said.

"We had a trickier start than was expected, but actually we've just really cemented ourselves as that safe place and that we're a forever family - we're not going anywhere.

"There's just been a whole lot of laughter. Lots of tears, too, but that's what makes us feel like a regular family."

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