Yesterday I had the opportunity to do a recruitment event with my amazing co-worker Katy Kirkpatrick in Dallas.
There was a ton of amazing families their waiting to take that first step into foster parenting. I remember the day we started some. I remember we were so excited and so naive. We had stars in our eyes and was so excited to start the journey. That was 16 some odd years ago. We are much older and the stars are gone. We have lots of great memories and lots of great kids. We still struggles with behaviors, defiant children and results from trauma. The trauma these kids have experienced last way into adulthood. They appear healed and doing well then you will see the same insecurities and damages start to appear around the corners. They still need to be reminded how precious and valuable they are even as adults.
What I have learned in my many years of fostering/adopting.
The advice I would give to all these new parents is find a support system. That may be family, friends, but usually ends up being other foster parents. Join facebook groups for foster and adoptive families there are lots of them. Take training, all the training you can get. Try new things. Not all interventions will work on all kids, keep trying new ones until you find one that works. Sometimes things work for a while then you have to change to something new. Take a break. Don't feel guilty for needing to take a break. It will keep you strong. Sometimes a break is what you need to come back and look at your situation from a whole new light. Know your limits, we all have them. When things get hard pray, and then pray again. Remember God is in control.
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