5 Ways to Support Your Birth Children with a New Foster Placement

Being a parent who also takes on the mantle of foster carer is a big thing. There are always going to be difficult conversations to have with your birth children, but there are significant rewards to doing this together which should always be kept at the forefront of every conversation. 

Give them a Voice

The most important thing you can do as a parent is to help your child find their voice throughout the process. They will have worries, questions, suggestions and more that you should validate and take on board. They are a valid part of the conversation, and it is your job to make sure they feel that way. Let them know you want to listen and consider creating a set time where they can get everything they need to say out in the open. 

Let them Get to Know the Process

There is a lot that happens when your family becomes one that fosters. Fostering in Scotland means finding an agency, going through the training, talking to social workers, and more, before you get the first placement through your door. This can be overwhelming for your birth children, so let them be a part of it as much as they want. 

Encourage Their Support with Decorating

Setting up the foster child’s bedroom can be equal parts fun and empowering for birth children. It can help them come to terms with the reality of the situation while allowing them a leading part in helping the transition take place. A bedroom is a super important part of any child’s life, after all, and no one knows that better than your kids. Let them help you make key decisions and even paint a few bits of the wall so that they are completely involved and feel pride in the new space. 

Help Them Write a Letter

One useful task to do together is to write a letter or a journal to the new foster child to welcome them into the house and talk to them about the rules and habits you all have as a family. It will be a great ice breaker for not just your birth child, but the foster child coming in as well and a great connection for them both to make that will ease the transition. 

Be Their Advocate Too

The biggest thing that any birth child will be afraid of is losing their parent as their advocate. It is your job to reassure them every step of the way that this could never possibly happen. It will be similar, instead, to welcoming a new sibling into the house and though your attention will be naturally divided, you will carve out special time just for them. There are all sorts of benefits to this, and the simple fact that you are acknowledging what is probably their biggest anxiety in a straightforward way will help them feel better. 

Helping birth children transition into a foster placement by your side is a big task, but one that is completely manageable if you have the right tools and knowledge in your bag. There are both practical and emotional things to be done, and it can be a great way to strengthen your relationship before a new child moves in.