06.08.2018

Is Foster Parenting for You?

A gift to Children: Is Foster Parenting for You?

Contributor Article by Dixie Somer

If you want to help a child who is in need, then becoming a foster parent is a great plan. Before you embark on this rewarding career, you must determine if you have the right type of personality and skills. The reality is that being a foster parent is often difficult because the children who need a safe home are frequently challenging. Some of the children who will arrive at your home are extremely frightened while other children are going to be defiant. Here are the skills required for becoming a foster parent.

How Many experiences Do You Have with Children?

It is essential to have previous experience with children, including having numerous siblings or children of your own. In addition, having experience working with children who aren’t related to you is helpful, so you might want to work in a school or for a nonprofit agency that focuses on caring for children. Working with different children helps you to understand facial expressions and body language so that you can determine if a child is feeling uncomfortable right away.

Do You Have a Lot of Patience?

You will need to have a lot of patience with the children who arrive at your foster home because a child might cry constantly, become physically ill or behave in a violent manner. When a child is upset, you must have a way to calm the child rather than needing to call your foster care manager for assistance. You must also understand proper discipline techniques for certain ages of children who are behaving inappropriately. At a Child’s Dream, for example, foster parents receive rigorous training in appropriate disciplinary techniques.

Is There Is a Support System in Place?

While single adults can become foster parents, it is important to have a support system in place for a variety of reasons. If you are taking care of a sick foster child, then you will need help with situations such as picking up medications from a pharmacy or shopping for groceries at the supermarket. In addition to having support while caring for a child, you will need emotional support when the child is ready to leave to return to his previous home or an adoptive home.

How Much Energy Do You Have?

Taking care of children requires a lot of energy, so you need to be in the best health possible. This doesn’t mean that an older individual can’t become a foster parent because a senior citizen is frequently the best choice for the short-term care of an older child. In some cases, an older child only needs care for a few days until a relative is located after a parent is injured in a vehicle accident. It is possible that a foster child will scream for hours or avoid sleeping because she is too afraid to relax.

Foster Parenting Isn’t for Everyone

Working as a foster parent isn’t a job for everyone, but if you think that you have the stamina and personality for the job, then contact a professional agency that places foster children into caring homes.