Why can't I adopt a child?

[Jarrott]

So I've made a house, I've bought all the upgrades for it, there are like 5 beds in it. Why can't I adopt a child? They have room to stay, what else do I need?

[Shadow The Innkeep]

Did you build a room specifically for a child? Are you adopting a kid who doesn’t have parents? Are you using any mods that affect children?

[Call Sign: Raven]

Could be a sign, man. Don't adopt. It's tough being Dragon Born and raising 9 children. The Imperials don't give good child support.

I'm joking, obviously. But, to try and help, did you build childs beds, childs rooms? Did you get the letter of adoption after Grelod dies? I'm pretty sure you need to have that.

[Jarrott]

Originally posted by Harrison Ford:

Could be a sign, man. Don't adopt. It's tough being Dragon Born and raising 9 children. The Imperials don't give good child support.

I'm joking, obviously. But, to try and help, did you build childs beds, childs rooms? Did you get the letter of adoption after Grelod dies? I'm pretty sure you need to have that.

I appreciate the joke, and I didn't have the option to build a 'Child's Bedroom'. I'm building the house in Falkreath, and it's just 'Bedrooms'. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, or it's just not possible to have children in that house, or what. And yes, I have the letter from the orphanage lady after Grelod is dead.

[Jarrott]

Nvm, it just worked. I guess the house wasn't finished being furnished. I gave it a very long time, but I guess it just needed more. It seemed like it was pretty full though. Sorry for wasting time and such here, but I got it working.

[Call Sign: Raven]

You're right, the normal houses are the ones that use childs beds and such.

Okay, double check here, just in case:

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Adoption

From what I'm reading online, you have to have 2 beds, 2 chests for the kids. If you are adopting from Riften, that's when you need the letter and then speak to Constance.

I know this is stupid to ask, but I have made the mistake in the past. Did you read the letter from the courier? Some quests don't trigger until you go in your inventory and open and read the letter. I've missed that before, and I was breaking my head trying to get the Jarl to give me the bandit quest so I can buy Lakeview...only I didn't open the letter I received, lmao.

Anyway, hope something in there helps!

[Call Sign: Raven]

Whoops! Didn't see your reply. Sorry for the wall of text. Glad it worked!

[Jarrott]

Can this game go 5 seconds without breaking on me? Well now I've got a house, and adopted Sofie from Windhelm. And now all of a sudden, she's broken. Like, I've gone to my house, I've waited a whole (ingame) day, and she's just not there. Went back to Windhelm, and she's just still sitting by the gate. And I can't talk to her. Either she just says that she needs to get her things and will see me at home, or she just doesn't say anything and just stares blankly at me with her cold dead eyes.

[Perplex]

The Hearthfire homes get new stuff every time you load the cell. So being away a long time wont help, entering and leaving the cell helps. (Borders for the land and not entering and exiting the house). Kids need storage places and beds to move in.

[Shadow The Innkeep]

Originally posted by Jarrott:

Can this game go 5 seconds without breaking on me? Well now I've got a house, and adopted Sofie from Windhelm. And now all of a sudden, she's broken. Like, I've gone to my house, I've waited a whole (ingame) day, and she's just not there. Went back to Windhelm, and she's just still sitting by the gate. And I can't talk to her. Either she just says that she needs to get her things and will see me at home, or she just doesn't say anything and just stares blankly at me with her cold dead eyes.

I asked you earlier if you use any mods for a reason, but was politely ignored. Cool!
We are not mind readers, we won’t know why your game is broken if you don’t tell us what state of the game you have.

What rooms have you built in your house? You have to have accommodations for a child (or two) otherwise they win’t move in. What dialogue Sofie had when you were trying to adopt her? Load a save before you adopted her first time and see if she behaves differently

[Jarrott]

Originally posted by Shadow Client:

Originally posted by Jarrott:

Can this game go 5 seconds without breaking on me? Well now I've got a house, and adopted Sofie from Windhelm. And now all of a sudden, she's broken. Like, I've gone to my house, I've waited a whole (ingame) day, and she's just not there. Went back to Windhelm, and she's just still sitting by the gate. And I can't talk to her. Either she just says that she needs to get her things and will see me at home, or she just doesn't say anything and just stares blankly at me with her cold dead eyes.

I asked you earlier if you use any mods for a reason, but was politely ignored. Cool!
We are not mind readers, we won’t know why your game is broken if you don’t tell us what state of the game you have.

What rooms have you built in your house? You have to have accommodations for a child (or two) otherwise they win’t move in. What dialogue Sofie had when you were trying to adopt her? Load a save before you adopted her first time and see if she behaves differently

Sorry I didn't tell you. No I don't have any mods, don't mod the game. I've built the Bedrooms, storage room, and Kitchen. I furnished them fully, and let the game build them up fully. There wasn't an option for a Child Specific bedroom to make for the Falkreath house, but there's like 6 beds in the house. I told Sofie I had a house in Falkreath and she said she was happy I'd adopt her. But she says she needs to Say goodbye to everyone and gather up her things and that she'll meet me at home. l did have a save and tried loading it a few times, but she said the same thing. But she never leaves Windhelm. She sits by the gate, and as stated before, she either just says the same thing, or just stares at me blankly.

[Shadow The Innkeep]

Huh, that’s weird. I wonder if it’s a vanilla bug USSEP has taken care of bc i have never seen that happen before... Check if your house has a chest for kid’s storage. Usually by the bed.

Have you talked to the chick from Riften Orphanage? Usually it doesn’t matter, i adopted Lucia in WR before talking go her and it worked fine.

Also, try buying another house and see if she agrees to live there? Idk if you can move her later on to Falkreath Manor.
Someone with a modded playthrough had this issue with Lucia a couple of yrs ago, i found a steam discussion. Idk if that person ever resolved the issue...

Also also, do you have a housecarl in that house?

[Jarrott]

Originally posted by Shadow Client:

Huh, that’s weird. I wonder if it’s a vanilla bug USSEP has taken care of bc i have never seen that happen before...
Have you talked to the chick from Riften Orphanage? Usually it doesn’t matter, i adopted Lucia in WR before talking go her and it worked fine.

Also, try buying another house and see if she agrees to live there? Idk if you can move her later on to Falkreath Manor.
Someone with a modded playthrough had this issue with Lucia a couple of yrs ago, i found a steam discussion. Idk if that person ever resolved the issue...

Also also, do you have a housecarl in that house?

No, hadn't talked to her. I could try that. I'll also try getting her to go to a different house. And yes, there's a housecarl.

[Shadow The Innkeep]

Also, UESP has a bug listed “Your personal steward and bard may decide to sleep in the beds for children, making it impossible to adopt”
Todd Howard voice booming across skyrim wilderness It just Works!

[Shadow The Innkeep]

Also UESP: your adopted child may continue to say thatvthey need to gather their things and bid farewell to other kids, even after they have arrived at your house. This can be fixed by moving your family to a new home. You need to have a suitable house prepared
power of Google

[Jarrott]

Well I guess that he kids on the streets just have their brains malfunctioning. Because I went to adopt the kids from the orphanage, worked like a charm. No flaws.