interactive workbook for birth children
A few weeks ago I wrote about how difficult it can be for birth children to deal with the impact of becoming part of a fostering family. It can be very difficult for children to learn to share their homes and families with foster children, especially during the early stages of a placement when everyone needs a period of time to adjust to the new situation. Foster children will need a significant amount of attention and this may lead birth children to feel resentful, particularly if the foster child does not appear to want to accept the time and attention their parents are giving them.
When prospective foster cares are assessed it is the whole family that is considered as fostering simply doesn’t work if one or more of the family members are not in favour of it. It is for this reason that the assessing social worker will need to speak at length and in private with your birth children to find out how they really feel about becoming part of a fostering family and to discuss with them what feelings they might expect to have to deal with. Foster children often come from disrupted backgrounds and may have suffered significant abuse, this can lead to reluctance to engage with their foster family; this can be disappointing for children and foster carers.
Supporting Birth Children
The British Association for Adoption and Fostering have published a work book aimed specifically at the children of foster families. It prepares children for the experience of having a foster child within their family through life story work, looking at issues such as sharing and relationships and place within their family.
At Fostering Connections we support any medium that allows families to prepare effectively for fostering. Anyone considering fostering should be fully aware of how demanding it will be before any decisions are made, and this includes children too. If you are applying to foster this might be a useful publication and can be found by following the link.
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