"Recognizing that the Child ....should group in family environment in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding" Hague Adoption Convention, Preamble

When an individual takes full parental custody over a child that is not biologically theirs, that process is called adoption. During this process (or perhaps even beforehand), the natural parents of the child relinquish all their rights and responsibilities regarding the child. After the adoption process, the adoptive parents become the legal guardians of the child, empowered to deal with him or her in much the same way that they would deal with one of their own.