The Top 7 skills that make people great foster Parents
In 2020, data analysis showed 400,700 kids in the United States were in the foster care system, including Treatment Foster Care. Of this vast number of children in care, nearly fifty-eight thousand kids were adopted.
Around 14% of children entering foster care find a permanent home. This excludes those who return to living with their main caregiver or parents. It also excludes those kids aging out of foster care.
The system has many kids; they each need loving foster parents to give them the care and attention they deserve. Foster parenting is difficult, but you only need a few essential foster parenting skills to learn how to be a parent. Keep reading to find out what these necessary skills are and how suited for foster parenting you are.
Patience, Grace, Compassion
Exhibit patience, grace, and compassion when foster parenting is an effective parenting skill. When wondering what I need to be a foster parent, assess your empathy for the youth in foster care.
You may also receive negative feedback from people close to you and your community. Some people find it hard to understand why someone would want to become a foster parent.
If your spouse or children have a hard time adjusting to the idea of you becoming a foster parent, give it time; there is no rush to become a foster parent and turn your home into a foster home for children in need. Your agency should help you get all potential foster families on board, not just you.
It's a big life decision affecting you, the kids you'll be fostering, and the family members and close ones around you. Once you make this incredible decision, have grace with the kids you welcome into your home. Learning skills in training and support groups and during home study will help you be a great foster parent. The technical skills you learn in training will benefit you with foster children and all your life and social skills.
They likely have moved around and needed time to adjust to your household rules and routine. Many foster kids have a troubled past, resulting in emotional turmoil. The child may be used to acting out in specific ways as a trauma response.
Exhibit your patience, grace, and lenience in these situations. They will need time to feel comfortable and learn to trust you.
Open Communication
One of the top reasons relationships fail is a lack of honest communication. Your foster kids need to know what to expect from you and what you can expect from them. This same required skill applies to all relationships.
Communicating allows this to occur. Do not let your hardships reflect how you treat your children and youth. You'll have to learn to set feelings aside and come to any problems objectively by creating an open dialogue to ensure positive parenting.
Discipline
Foster kids require good parents to be predictable and reliable in disciplinary action. All kids go through phases of rebellion, testing boundaries, and making mistakes. It's natural to the process of growing up and not related to children to only children in foster care.
How you react, and discipline foster kids affect your foster parenting skills, given their history of trauma.
Teach them to have mindfulness of their actions. You can use positive reinforcement for positive behavioral changes. Always recognize the work they're doing to better themselves.
Alternatively, consider giving them a space to decompress when you need to discipline. Children's strong feelings can be handled with peaceful reflection in a secure space, rather than a time-out. This teaches them to provide a trustworthy environment to grow and learn.
Adaptability
As you know, life will become very different when fostering a kid. If promoting a child leads to adoption, you'll be in for life, complete with new routines.
Foster kids require emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual effort to care for them. You won't have as much free time as you did before. Unexpected events may arise due to your foster child's emotional, medical, or physical needs. Your time management is critical to your success with being a foster parent.
Be open to the unexpected and know that your routine isn't permanent. This flexibility and adaptability give you the skills necessary to provide for foster children and prepare yourself for them to leave your home, too potentially.
Stamina and Energy
Foster kids need more care than kids without emotional or mental issues and require much energy. If stress affects you easily, keeping up with kids' changing needs might be tough.
If you feel stressed, child-placing agencies offer help to learn how to care for kids. Over time, you'll learn from the experiences and improve at handling them.
Any parent knows how life is in full-speed-ahead mode when raising children. The very same goes for fostering kids. Don't set yourself up for failure if you cannot keep up with the quick routine of raising kids.
Role-Modeling
Many foster kids may feel lonely, having no parental figure guiding them properly. You get the opportunity to set an example for them.
Kids are like sponges and think like a product of their environment. They will naturally and subconsciously pick up on your behaviors and speech. If your address is discriminatory or derogatory, they may normalize this thinking.
Be mindful of your actions, knowing you can influence them positively by setting an example.
Boundary Setting
Foster kids may have a lot of pent-up hurt due to their situation. Many of them feel neglected and abandoned. A great skill to have is to establish boundaries.
Some are even confused and frustrated about why they must be in their situations. By setting boundaries, you know that you are there for them emotionally. However, they can't take advantage of you or walk all over you.
Develop a healthy balance between the two to establish a good relationship that works for everyone involved.
Foster Parenting
These skills are a few needed to make a good foster parent. If you don't have them all, don't worry.
Foster parenting is a learning experience for kids and you. No job description is given when you volunteer to help a child. You will learn a lot soon to become a great Foster Parent your way.
You'll grow and develop healthier habits and coping mechanisms while positively influencing kids' lives in need. With so many foster kids, you'll first match with the easier ones to handle. Choose the type of child you want to foster with programs to be well-prepared.
Contact FosterVa today here to become a foster parent! The kids need you.
Choosing to foster children will impact your life and those close to you. Once you make this incredible decision, have grace with the kids you welcome into your home. Training, support groups, and home study teach tremendous foster parent skills. The technical skills you learn in training will benefit you with foster children and all your life and social skills.
They likely have moved around and needed time to adjust to your household rules and routine. Many foster kids have a troubled past, resulting in emotional turmoil. The child may be used to acting out in specific ways as a trauma response.
Exhibit your patience, grace, and lenience in these situations. Know that they will need time to feel comfortable and learn to trust you.
Open Communication
One of the top reasons relationships fail is a lack of honest communication. Your foster kids need to know what to expect from you and what you can expect from them. This same principle applies to all relationships.
Communicating allows this to occur. Do not let your hardships reflect how you treat your foster kids. You'll have to learn to set feelings aside and come to any problems objectively by creating an open dialogue.
Discipline
Foster kids require predictable and reliable disciplinary action. All kids go through phases of rebellion, testing boundaries, and making mistakes. It's natural to the process of growing up and not related to children to only children in foster care.
Foster kids may have experienced difficult situations. It is essential to respond appropriately to their mistakes in order to be a good foster parent.
Teach them to have mindfulness of their actions. You can use positive reinforcement for positive behavioral changes. Always recognize the work they're doing to better themselves.
Alternatively, consider giving them a space to decompress when you need to discipline. Children can benefit from taking a break. This break should be quiet and in a safe spot.
During this break, they can reflect on their feelings. This is a better option than a time-out. This teaches them to provide a trustworthy environment to grow and learn.
Adaptability
As you know, life will become very different when fostering a kid. If promoting a child leads to adoption, you'll be in for life, complete with new routines.
Foster kids require emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual effort to care for them. You won't have as much free time as you did before. Unexpected events may arise due to your foster child's emotional, medical, or physical needs. Your time management is critical to your success with being a foster parent.
Be open to the unexpected and know that your routine isn't permanent. Being flexible and adaptable helps you take care of foster children and get ready for them to leave your home.
Stamina and Energy
Foster kids need more care than kids without emotional or mental issues; they require much energy. If you get stressed easily and can't handle pressure, it might be hard to keep up with kids' changing needs.
When you are stressed, child-placing agencies offer resources to teach you how to take care of children. Over time, you'll learn from the experiences and improve at handling them.
Any parent knows how life is in full-speed-ahead mode when raising children. The very same goes for fostering kids. Don't set yourself up for failure if you cannot keep up with the quick routine of raising kids.
Role-Modeling
Many foster kids may feel lonely, having no parental figure guiding them properly. You get the opportunity to set an example for them during the transition into adulthood.
Kids are like sponges and think like a product of their environment. They will naturally and subconsciously pick up on your behaviors and speech. If your address is discriminatory or derogatory, they may normalize this thinking.
Be mindful of your actions, knowing you can influence them positively by setting an example.
Boundary Setting
Foster kids may have a lot of pent-up hurt due to their situation. Many of them feel neglected and abandoned. A great skill to have is to establish boundaries.
Some are even confused and frustrated about why they must be in their situations. By setting boundaries, you know that you are there for them emotionally. However, they can't take advantage of you or walk all over you.
Develop a healthy balance between the two to establish a good relationship that works for everyone involved.
Foster Parenting
These skills are a few needed to improve your parenting style.
Foster parenting is a learning experience for kids and you. No job description is given when you volunteer to assist a child. You'll learn a lot soon on your path to becoming a great Foster Parent in your own special way.
You'll grow and develop healthier habits and coping mechanisms while positively influencing kids' lives in need. With so many foster kids out there, you'll first match with the easier ones to handle. Choose the type of child you want to care for. Programs can help you become a good foster parent and develop valuable parenting skill sets that will improve your parenting skills.
Contact FosterVa today here to become a foster parent! The kids need you.