Is it right for you? Fostering children is a noble and selfless act of caring for a child who is in need of a temporary home. Whether it is due to abuse, neglect, or other circumstances, foster care provides children with a safe and loving environment while they wait to be reunited with their families or find a permanent home.

If you’re considering fostering, it’s important to ask yourself if it’s the right choice for you. Fostering is also something that has the ability to change the way you live your life. keep in mind as you read through this article, fostering sounds very difficult, but in reality, it is just accepting a child into your home and showing them the love, they deserve. We do want to make sure you are prepared. Here are a few things to consider before deciding if fostering children is right for you!

Are you prepared for the emotional investment?

Fostering children can be a challenging and emotional journey. You’ll be welcoming a child into your home and providing them with love, support, and guidance. The child may have experienced trauma, which can lead to behavior challenges, emotional difficulties, and developmental delays.

However, the rewards of fostering can be immeasurable. You will have the opportunity to make a positive impact on a child’s life and help shape their future. The bond that develops between a foster parent and child can be incredibly strong. You will likely cherish the memories and relationships that you build with your foster children for the rest of your life.

Are you willing to work with the child’s birth family?

In most cases, the goal of foster care is to reunite children with their birth families. As a foster parent, you might encounter having to work with the birth family and support their efforts to address the issues that led to the placement of their children in foster care. Keep in mind that you are the advocate for the children in your home, and you should only work with the bio families if is it safe.

While this can be a difficult and sometimes a frustrating process, it’s important to remember that it is sometimes in the best interest of the child. By working together with the birth family, you can help ensure that the child has a bright future and is reunited with their loved ones as safely as possible.

Are you prepared to make a long-term commitment?

Fostering is a long-term commitment that can last anywhere from a few months to several years. For example, we have friends that have only fostered a few weeks and we have personally had a case that lasted two years. Before you become a foster parent, it’s important to make sure that you are prepared for the responsibilities and challenges that come with the role.

Additionally, you should also be prepared for the possibility of having your foster children move on to a permanent home. If the case leads to adoption, this could be your home. This is call “fostering to adopt.” If the children move to another home for permanency reasons it can be a difficult and emotional time for both you and the child. It is important to remember that this is a positive step in their journey and that you have provided them with a safe and loving environment during a critical time in their life.

Are you open to having a diverse family with your foster children?

Broken families come in all shapes and sizes. Being willing to accept these different shapes and sizes is exactly what these children need. Kids in foster care need someone that is going to accept them as they are. They need you to be the person in their life that will give them the support that they need. Foster care is often about diversity and helping children from different backgrounds and cultures. You may be asked to care for children from a variety of races, ethnicities, and cultures, and being open to the child’s cultures and the things that make you different can be an excellent way to bond.

By fostering a child from a different background, you will have the opportunity to expand your understanding of different cultures. You will be helping to create a more inclusive and tolerant society.

How can I help the fostering community without actually fostering?

I think we determined in the above article that fostering isnt for everyone. Some people just can’t take on extra kids. That is okay! If you’re still looking to help, lucky for you, there are plenty of way you can help! In the article here we go over the best ways to support a foster family. You can also look into Respite care, which is very short-term fostering to help longer term foster parents. Another good option is to become a supporting mentor for a foster family. A supporting mentor brings meals to the foster family, takes a child for the day to spend some one-on-one time with them, or finds another specific need from the family and helps there! As a foster family, we wouldn’t be able to it without respite parents and supporting mentors. Fostering gets tough, but with support we can continue the journey.

Fostering isn’t scary.

I hope that this article didn’t scare you away from fostering. It is just things we had wished we were made aware of before our fostering journey. We have had to prepare our self for the emotional toll it takes when a child leaves your home. We have had to work with bio families. We’ve had diverse children, and because of all this we are better foster parents. It seems like a lot, but all it comes down to is loving on children that really need it.

If you are looking for more information consider our article on How to Navigate the foster system.