Babies are easier because they don't start off bad. Teens have had years of abuse behind them. Read the reports of others here and you will see it is rare and hard to fix the kids after that trauma.
Sure, babies don't start out with years of trauma. So what? People are willing to take classes and things and learn, are they not? It just isn't the same as babies.
And to be fair, you aren't "fixing" a baby: You are doing the same thing - providing a loving home, trying to give another person the things they need. You just have a head start on some of the problems you'll be facing with a teenager - the sort of thing that blindsides parents of babies if it happens.
I'm not sure why it is an issue that "things are hard".
> Sure, babies don't start out with years of trauma. So what?
I think that you should look up what trauma and dysfunctional early setup does with kids. Because it can be very hard on caregiver and test all their abilities including self control. The adoption agencies themselves are quite open about these issues - they do not want people to adopt and then be unable to handle things.
Which are all euphemisms mind you. Basically, there are issues with violence, inability to create relationship or even inability that relationship can be "true". Which causes whole other bunch of behavioral problems. Like, the eagerness to "test" caregiver by really going out of way to create trouble. And if caregiver fails, result is basically abuse. And the kid can't help itself, but adults should.
And adults when they see they don't have time and resources and patience to deal with above, do better to adopt baby.
> People are willing to take classes and things and learn, are they not? It just isn't the same as babies.
If you adopt, or give birth to, a baby, chances are very good that there will be no particular issues. If you adopt an older kid through social services, you're all but guaranteed to have a lot more problems than the average parent. Not to mention that the kid will not be as attached to you, making it doubly difficult.
