When you make the decision to foster, it is important to consider how it will affect every member of the family. That means, taking some time to prepare any birth children in the house for the new role they’ll be taking on. As a parent, there is a big responsibility to ensure that well-being is at the heart of every move you make. Therefore helping them get ready will be a big part of the equation. Below, there are some ways to help birth children get to know the process of welcoming a new foster child. Which will hopefully make them feel a little more secure with what’s to come.

Introducing Them to Your Social Worker

Every time you foster a child, there will be a few social workers involved. Your family will be assigned a social worker and so will the foster child. Any agency like Orange Grove Foster Care will ensure that everybody in the house has met the main social workers and that there has been plenty of opportunity for discussion and question answering. This is a great space for your child to get to know the experts involved. Additionally it will let them know they are there to look after them too.

Reassuring Them They Have a Voice

The biggest thing you can do is to let your children know they have a voice and that, that voice is valid! Tell them all the time, every single day, that their feelings count. There will always be a safe space to tell you about any worries or thoughts they might have. Encourage them to write it down in a journal if they don’t feel able to speak up. Often, children find this easier.

Letting Them Be a Part of the Home Preparation

Your foster child will be using a bedroom in the house, and this bedroom needs to be up to a decent standard before they move in. This is a fun activity you can do together. It is also something that will enable your birth children to feel involved. It will also give them a great conversation starter when the new child moves in too.

Teaching Them About Empathy

Foster children come from all different backgrounds and circumstances. There is a good chance that they will have extreme experiences that are starkly contrasted with your birth children’s upbringing. That is where empathy is a useful tool to have. Talk to them about other people’s feelings and focus the learning on how actions impact others. Remembering why it’s important to be kind, and how everyone has a different life story.

Communicating About the Changes

An extremely effective method for navigating change successfully with children is to openly discuss what will happen. While you can’t say for sure how things might be, you do have the power to narrate what could happen and how the routine will shift from what they’re used to. This will provide comfort and reassurance.

Fostering is a wonderful profession that enables thousands of children to live safely where they otherwise might not. However, it has to be a good fit for all the members of the family and parents must help their birth children get to know all about fostering.