Man did this year fly by and oh, what a year it has been. I have been writing here for a year now and what a great experience that continues to be. This short but busy year a lot has happened that involves foster care and also for me personally.

We will start with the good happenings and changes first. This country is slowly starting to realize when children are removed from their homes and become foster children that the responsibility should last past their 18th birthday. There are so many foster children that are aging... more

Coming off the holiday highs can be especially hard for foster children. While they are feeling the same letdowns as the rest of us, and then add all the emotions that come along with foster care, it can be very overwhelming.

Foster children can be feeling a lot of guilt during this time. They are still thinking of their biological family, and during the holidays, probably more so. Some children feel guilty because they know that things are rough back with their biological families and a lot do not have the Christmas like they are experiencing in foster care.... more

I talked about when foster children struggle with biological parents being unable to experience the holidays with them during my last post. Truthfully this is something that will pop up from time to time and does not have to be during the holidays.

When you take your foster children to the park for a picnic, or any other family outing, the feelings about wishing their biological parents could also experience this, can surface. Most foster children in time have talked about this to different degrees while in my home.

The common thread with most if... more

I have posted about foster children being placed in shelters during the holidays. I would like to share with you a story of two little ones that this happened to. This happens because a lot of foster parents do not take foster placements during the holidays.

A two year old little boy and a baby girl, sibling group, fixing to turn one in a couple of days (which was also a little over a week before Christmas), were placed into foster care. In this case, it was... more

When I became a foster parent I was surprised to get a phone call before the holiday season started inquiring whether I would take placement during the holidays. I kind of thought it was a silly question and it completely blew my mind. My question was, “Where do the foster children go when foster parents do not accept placements during the holidays?”

With my agency you have to sign up to continue taking placements during the holidays and you can be specific (ex: Thanksgiving only, no placements a week before or after Christmas, etc). I was very surprised to learn... more

Older foster teens or foster children that have aged out of the system have a difficult time during the holidays. Some children are left without families to go home to and traditions for the holidays. While some former foster children do reunite with their birth families once they age out of the foster care system most do not have anyone to reunite with for any number of reasons.

A college girl that was once a foster child talks about her lonely times during the holidays. ... more

Studies are proving that children do better in a foster care setting versus an orphanage or institutional. Really, is this such shocking news. Granted this may go against some people’s views of the desire to do away with foster care and adoption. Children were removed from institutional settings and placed into foster care where once the children were in care, great improvement was seen across the board with the children’s development. The children’s language, social, reasoning, and... more

Telling Foster Children That Your Home Is Not a Permanent Placement

Questioning the Idea of a Placement Becoming Permanent for Your Family

Reasons Why It May Not Work as a Permanent Placement

Talking to your foster child or children why your home... more

Telling Foster Children That Your Home Is Not a Permanent Placement

Questioning the Idea of a Placement Becoming Permanent for Your Family

When choosing to parent a child through adoption, especially from foster to adopt, we have to be honest with ourselves about our family’s needs and our abilities, to make the right decision. We cannot be a benefit to... more

When a foster child is placed in your home and they are legally up for adoption, questioning if it could be permanent is something the child most likely will start asking. Heck, truthfully when you are fostering children that are up for adoption, this can be a common question for a lot of people to ask you.

I have fostered a few children that were up for adoption when they came to my home. It was clear that we were only doing foster, but once the children get... more