Have you ever wondered… should I be a foster parent? Is fostering for me? Do I have time?
If so, then please allow me to shed a little light on these questions for you. Being a foster parent is one of the most intricate, yet, rewarding jobs I have ever done. Becoming a foster parent has allowed me to open my heart and home to children who need structure, guidance, love, and consistency. Both the challenges and rewards has helped me learn as I walk the path of fostering children.
There are many aspects that is incorporated when someone choses to become a foster parent, whether you have children of your own already, or you are becoming a parent for the first time. Time management is one of the most important aspects of raising children, especially so, when one chooses to become a foster parent.
For instance, spending with the children and making time for appointments are both essential to one being an effective parent. I have found that children who enter my home as a foster child, do want love and to be thought of as a part of the family, yet, they also fight these very desires. “Patience…” Patience, is another key aspect that I feel is imperative when bringing foster children into my home. While I may feel I am giving them a better life, having that mindset is not wise – as the children in many cases feel the life they had was better or worth living because… well let’s face facts, that is their family – all they have ever known.
Thus, the term patience. As patience allows one to know and understand that while he or she are offering a better lifestyle, the child may be resistant, fight against you, or lose hope that they are not worthy! Nonetheless, opening my home is worth it. It is worth all the different components which makes that child who he or she is.
