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While most children would prefer to be at home with their family, there are times that their safety and emotional well-being are better off in foster care. Foster children come from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences. Regardless, all of the shuffling around can lead a foster child to respond through separation anxiety.
While it is difficult to eliminate separation anxiety entirely, there are ways to participate in positive foster parenting, to better understand it and help the child cope. Read on to learn more about what it is and how you can help.
What is Separation Anxiety?
According to Psychology Today, Separation Anxiety refers to “excessive fear or worry about separation from a home or an attachment figure.”
Separation Anxiety is a normal stage of development for infants and young children, and you’ll often see it when a parent or caregiver leaves the room or drops a child off at daycare. However, this fear usually subsides as the child matures and feels more secure.
In the case of foster children, Separation Anxiety can continue past the typical age, since they have experienced the feeling of separation on a much larger scale.
What are the red flags?
For children in foster care, Separation Anxiety can manifest in a number of ways, from behavior and sleep issues to headaches and nausea. Children may seem sad and withdrawn, overly fearful, or easily agitated. It can help to remind yourself that anxiety shows itself in many forms.
Counseling, therapeutic mentoring, and other supports can be immensely helpful. It’s also important to talk with your foster child’s teacher before going back to school, so that they also understand how Separation Anxiety works.
How can you help as a foster parent?
While Separation Anxiety is common, you can help your foster child overcome it. Take time to build a bond with them, so that they can trust you. Find things that they are interested in, and make an effort to do them together. Show that you care, so that they can feel secure in your relationship. Stay in clear communication with your foster child, so that you can talk about issues as they arise.
A stable home environment is also important. Provide a safe and private space for your foster child. You can help them pick out items to decorate their room, so that they feel ownership over the space. Keep them on a predictable routine, including meals, homework, and family bonding activities.
No child wants to be in foster care, but with patience and compassion, you can help the Social Anxiety slowly wash away. Over 400,000 children are in foster care in the United States, including 18,000 in the state of Illinois. One person can make a difference and that person is you. Contact Camelot Care Centers to learn more about becoming a foster parent.
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).
