How To Help Your Foster Child Feel At Home
July 23, 2018
7 Skills You Need To Master Before Becoming A Foster Parent
August 15, 2018
Choosing to provide foster care is a selfless act. Not only can it positively benefit a child in need, but it can also benefit you and your family, as well. The arrival of your foster child can be an exciting yet also challenging experience. While each child and situation is unique, here are a few things you can do to help welcome your foster child to their new home.
Cover The Basics
Have a box of toiletries ready for the child, with necessary items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, and a comb. If the child is a teenager, invest in deodorant, face wash, a razor, shaving cream, and anything else a teenager may need. If you are fostering a female teenager, provide pads or tampons in the box as well. While other goodies are appreciated, your foster child will be happy to see that their basic needs are met first before anything else.
Matching Their Interests
Speak with the foster agency about the child’s hobbies, likes, and dislikes. For example, if the child is a sports fan, consider purchasing a few sports-themed items to set up in their future space. Don’t go too overboard, though. While it is welcoming to have a fully decorated space ready and waiting, it is also important to give the child room to add their own personal touches to their room once they have moved in.
A Gift To Keep
Another thing to consider is purchasing a new comforter for the child to keep as their own. Purchase a duffle bag as well, so that the child has it portable and ready to take with them, if need be. They will enjoy having something practical that can stay with them if and when they leave your home.
Set The Rules
Think about the rules you want to set forth for your household. If the child is small, list areas of the home they can enter and those that they cannot. If the child is a teenager, consider rules such as curfew, cell phone use, or completing homework in a timely fashion. While they may not act like it, most children appreciate boundaries and rules set upon arrival, so that they know what is expected as a member of the family.
Talk To Your Family
While it’s important to create a space to welcome your foster child, it is also important to talk to your family about the new changes coming up. If you have other children, you will want to discuss the expectations of how they interact with the foster child. Without going into too much detail, explain the child’s past, and possible triggers. Remind your children to be sensitive to the foster child’s adjustment period, and to give them space while they get used to their new home.
Choosing to foster a child is choosing to help a child have a better life. Even if you are only in their lives for a small amount of time, you still have the chance to make an impact on their lives for the better. Creating a welcoming home will help start things off on the right foot. With only a few small changes, your foster child will arrive feeling welcomed from the start.
Every child needs and deserves to grow up safe and protected from abuse and neglect, and caring foster parents offer children support and stability when they need it most. At Camelot Care Centers, we specialize in higher-level foster care for children and adolescents that need extra support. We partner with our foster parents/homes to provide trauma informed care and additional services, including in-home counseling, parent support and training, tele-psychiatry, and therapeutic mentoring, to maintain children at the least restrictive, yet most appropriate level of care. Camelot Care Centers (“Camelot”) is a Child Welfare Agency licensed by the State of Illinois, a member of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY), and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA).
