ater experience of life; some may be established in their careers and others may have already brought up children of their own and have developed good parenting skills. 4.11. But the age of the prospective adopter must also be considered in the light of the gap in age between them and the child to be placed with them. Too large a gap may have an adverse effect upon the child and possibly upon their relationship with the adoptive parents. Where a child has already suffered change, deprivation and loss in their early years, demands on adoptive parents, both physical and emotional, are likely to be considerable, particularly as the child grows older. Siblings 4.12. Siblings should be adopted by the same prospective adopter unless there is good reason why they should not be. Where an agency is making a placement decision on two or more children from the same family, it should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the quality of the children’s relationship, their individual needs and the likely capacity of the prospective adopter to meet the needs of all the siblings being placed together. Where it is not possible for the siblings to be placed together the agency should consider carefully the need for the children to remain in contact with each other and the need for adoption support (see paragraph 27). Where a placement is sought for a child whose sibling(s) have already been adopted, it will be important to consider whether it is possible to place the child with the parents who have already adopted the sibling(s). It must be recognised however, that this could be placing too great a burden on the adoptive parent, and risk destabilising the existing adoptive family. See chapter 7. 86 Placing a child with birth relatives 4.13. Local authorities are required by section 22