{"id":719,"date":"2020-01-21T19:31:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T01:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonmpalmer.com\/?p=719"},"modified":"2020-01-24T03:24:41","modified_gmt":"2020-01-24T09:24:41","slug":"6-things-that-foster-parents-do-every-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/21\/6-things-that-foster-parents-do-every-day\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Things that foster parents do every day!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
  1. Provide a safe environment<\/strong><\/li>
  2. Provide the necessities of life<\/strong><\/li>
  3. Watch for any signs of special needs<\/strong><\/li>
  4. Help educate and mentor biological families<\/strong><\/li>
  5. Love<\/strong><\/li>
  6. Strength<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Provide a safe environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    First and foremost, as a foster parent safety is of paramount importance. Having a home where the fear of being in danger of violent encounters and being neglected are very real things! Once a child experiences these traumas there can be behaviors that manifest such as hiding from loud noises, withdrawal from others, or food hoarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Food insecurity is a big issue for kids to get over. Try to wrap your head around the thought of never having enough to eat for more than one meal at a time. Now imagine if you experienced it at 2 or 3 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The fear of death by starvation is not really a thought that a 2-year-old can fully comprehend. But, they can feel it as an intense fear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Deeply seeded fears can and most likely will present themselves in inappropriate behavior. As a foster parent your job is to constantly reassure them that while these fears were real in their past, it is not a part of their current situation. You must teach their little heart that they are worthy of being taken care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Providing the necessities of life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    As a foster parent, you are the child’s primary caregiver and responsible for the things necessary to live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By providing these important pieces of life, you begin to build a bond of trust with the child in your home. Food that they are comfortable eating is a simple way to begin the bridge-building necessary for a long-term connection. Clothes and toys are often things a child in your home is not accustomed to being able to pick out or have as their “own” things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some of the things you will provide are simply a ride to a doctor or therapist visit. Most children will need to be taken to visitation with their biological parents on a regular basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You will also provide structure – something that is all too often lacking in the chaos of life for a child who has just come into care. Structure will make a child feel safe and loved. It is an absolute non-negotiable for some children if you have any hope for healthy growth and development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Watching for signs of special needs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Many kids who come into care are going to have some kind of special needs. Unfortunately, a lot of those needs have gone undiagnosed. As a foster parent, you will learn some developmental milestones that children should be achieving at specific ages. Noticing when a child is not meeting those milestones is part of the foster parent’s responsibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When those special needs are recognized, our job is to talk with our case manager and ensure that the appropriate interventions are being utilized in order to help them meet those milestones as soon as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You do not need to be an expert in the field to do this. Often times a child will be assigned a counselor or therapist and they can be a huge help as part of the child’s support team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An effective support team will all be watching and communicating to ensure the child is meeting their goals or receiving any necessary interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Giving Love<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    At the risk of sounding smarmy, love is the most important thing you will provide. In our experience, there are a lot of mothers addicted to drugs or alcohol and fathers who are checked out of their children’s lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The one thing any human can provide for a child is love. For a child, the best way to spell love is T.I.M.E. You will spend more time than you think showing a child that they are worthy of love. They will not believe you at first. They may even pull away from you in order to cope with the fear of losing one more significant relationship!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you love a child you will be amazed at the responses you will eventually see. It will take some time and they may be resistant at first. But, consistent warmth and care will eventually break through to allow you to see the core of their heart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Nothing prepares you to see those turn-around moments, and there are few things better in life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Providing Strength<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Our mission statement is “Providing Strength to the Weakest Among Us. This is where you take a broken little boy and begin to craft a good man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are few endeavors in life that will yield a more rewarding life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Provide a safe environment Provide the necessities of life Watch for any signs of special needs Help educate and mentor biological families Love Strength Provide a safe environment First and foremost, as a foster parent safety is of paramount importance. Having a home where the fear of being in danger of violent encounters and being…Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","libsyn-item-id":0,"libsyn-show-id":0,"libsyn-post-error":"","libsyn-post-error_post-type":"","libsyn-post-error_post-permissions":"","libsyn-post-error_api":"","playlist-podcast-url":"","libsyn-episode-thumbnail":"","libsyn-episode-widescreen_image":"","libsyn-episode-blog_image":"","libsyn-episode-background_image":"","libsyn-post-episode-category-selection":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_thumbnail":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_theme":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_height":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_width":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_placement":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_download_link":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_use_download_link_text":"","libsyn-post-episode-player_custom_color":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-explicit":"","libsyn-post-episode":"","libsyn-post-episode-update-id3":"","libsyn-post-episode-release-date":"","libsyn-post-episode-simple-download":"","libsyn-release-date":"","libsyn-post-update-release-date":"","libsyn-is_draft":"","libsyn-new-media-media":"","libsyn-post-episode-subtitle":"","libsyn-new-media-image":"","libsyn-post-episode-keywords":"","libsyn-post-itunes":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-number":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-season-number":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-type":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-title":"","libsyn-post-episode-itunes-episode-author":"","libsyn-destination-releases":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data-enabled":"","libsyn-post-episode-advanced-destination-form-data-input-enabled":false,"libsyn-post-episode-premium_state":"","libsyn-episode-shortcode":"","libsyn-episode-embedurl":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,16,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foster-care","category-foster-parenting","category-parenting"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":675,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/14\/how-long-does-it-take-to-foster-to-adopt\/","url_meta":{"origin":719,"position":0},"title":"How long does it take to foster to adopt?","author":"Jason","date":"January 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The process of adoption through the foster care system can be anywhere from fairly simple to time-consuming and complex.\u00a0 The short answer is that the foster to adopt process can take 6 months (plus the time for filing court documents), all the way up to 28 months if you are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adoption"","block_context":{"text":"Adoption","link":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/category\/adoption\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC_3505-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC_3505-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC_3505-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC_3505-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC_3505-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fostercarenation.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/DSC_3505-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2292,"url":"https:\/\/fostercarenation.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/27\/complex-trauma-with-andrea-hanson\/","url_meta":{"origin":719,"position":1},"title":"Complex Trauma with Andrea Hanson","author":"Jason","date":"March 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Andrea has worked with clients across the globe who are seeking a deep recalibration from a state of trauma response to a state of self-love, creativity, wholeness, and flow. 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