Tips For Explaining Foster Care To Extended Family And Friends
October 26, 2018
How To Help Children In Foster Care During The Holidays
November 16, 2018
The holiday season is upon us! Now what? Knowing how to properly prepare your foster child for family festivities can be daunting task. Making the season bright, spending quality time together and planning new traditions are all important, but respecting and understanding your foster child’s feelings, customs, and past holiday experiences are just as vital. Here are a few tips to help you put your best foot forward as a foster family this holiday season.
Traditions
The first step in preparing for the holiday season with your foster child is to talk about traditions. Ask them which traditions they have enjoyed while growing up. Make an effort to repeat a few of these traditions so that your foster child feels comforted this holiday season. Perhaps they always went to see Santa Claus at the mall, or they may have enjoyed driving around in the evenings looking at the neighbor’s lights.Let your foster child know the traditions you plan to recreate with them so that they have positive experiences to look forward to.
Planning
Some foster children may not have any traditions to bring to the table. This is the perfect opportunity to create a new tradition together. Look on Pinterest with your foster child or search online for different fun traditions to start. These may range from inviting an Elf on the Shelf into your home, to creating a gingerbread house or salt dough ornaments in the kitchen as a family. Narrow down a few ideas and let your foster child know when you plan to participate in these traditions together.
Ask your foster child for input as to what they would like to do as a family this year. You may find that they have celebrated a different holiday than you in the past. If this is the case, make an effort to research that holiday’s traditions and find a way to include them with your traditional holiday experience. Keeping clear communication about the holiday and building positive expectations can help a foster child prepare for a positive holiday experience.
Another thing to plan together is the holiday menu. Talk with your foster child about holiday foods they have enjoyed in the past. Sit down and search online together or look through cookbooks for meal ideas. Invite them to the grocery store to get ingredients together and then assign them steps to do in the kitchen, so that they can assist you with the meal along the way.
Understanding
Even if you accomplish all of the above, your foster child may still experience sadness during the holidays. This time of year can be a reminder that they are no longer with their former families. They may also have negative memories resurface of times when holidays did not go as planned. Let your foster child know that it is okay to be sad. Tell your foster child that although this year will be different, it will still be a great opportunity to have an enjoyable holiday season together.
Fostering a child during the holiday season isn’t always easy. Use these three simple suggestions to help you get started on planning, so you can give your foster child a happy holiday season they will never forget.
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 CareCenters, 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. CamelotCare 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 theCouncil on Accreditation (COA).
