Tips to Introduce Your Children to Foster Children

I recently wrote an article about deciding if fostering a child is for you. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, you can read it right here.

You should never make the decision to take on a foster child without the support of the family that you do live with. This is especially true for your biological children. Many struggle when you add some more members to your family.

However, if you do it correctly, it may be the best thing that you ever did. Here are some tips to help you introduce your biological children to foster children.

Before you even think about adding a foster child to your family, you need to talk to your children. It helps if you go into the family discussion as prepared as possible. Have a list of reasons why you are interested in doing this. It may even help if you have some concerns that you (and your family) may have. You should counter these with reasons why you think that your family can overcome these challenges.

You should never push if one of your children isn’t on board. You need to have everyone in your family ready. If someone isn’t comfortable with the idea, it may not be the right time for you to foster a child.

If you really think about it, you may have been considering this for a few months, so you may just need to give your family some time to think about this also. In a few months, they may be ready for the challenge.

It may help to remind your children that they are still going to be your priority, even as you bring more children into your home. Some biological children don’t feel as important when you bring another child into your life. However, you need to make sure that they know just how important they are to you. You want your children to know that you are on their side, and you will do everything that you can to ensure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible.

That being said, you need to be as fair as possible. The rules (and consequences) need to be the same for everyone that lives in your home. If you treat your biological children harder than the foster child, your children are going to be upset.

You also need to let your children know that they need to be good role models. They are going to have to continue to act like well-behaved children through the whole process. If you want your foster children to behave, your biological children need to show them what is expected of them.

It is important to remember (and remind your other family members) that a foster child is going to need some time and space as they adjust to their new home. Though you may expect it, not every child is going to be happy to stay in your home. Some may take some time to get used to their new home (and your family). So, give them a grace period so that they can feel comfortable in their new home.

Before you bring a foster child into your home, you need to talk to your children. If they aren’t on board, you need to give them some time to consider it. You don’t want to hurt your biological children, even if it means helping other children. In fact, you need to let them know how important they are to you, and how you are going to continue to be there for them throughout the whole process.

Previously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.