Three Reasons to Deal With Stress in Foster Parenting
Updated: Dec 27, 2022
The holidays are so stressful for foster families. Not only are we trying to spend the same amount on all the kids, but we also have to go to every single activity for our children's plays, programs, church events, attend all ten family gatherings, and do the shopping. We need to do the wrapping, baking, cooking, and cleaning.
Little Johnny needs to have a visit before you can go to your work Christmas party. Sally, your newest foster daughter, has a school play at the same time as you traditionally go to your husband's great-grandma's house. You need to purchase Uncle Matt that last-minute gift and so he will have something equally as expensive as Aunt Mindy's.
Christmas comes and goes.
But the stress of the holidays has left its mark. You feel down and out, almost depressed. And now you have to find somewhere to put all the gifts your children got without overwhelming the bedrooms. Stress and lack of desire to accomplish all you need to do is a sign that you are on the brink of a depressive state of mind.
New Year's Day can be a place for making resolutions. Do resolutions even work?
Why not invest in yourself if you have been stressed out for a while? Invest in yourself so you can invest in your foster children and family. Resolutions rarely work. Why not invest in a new program this year? When you do not take care of your stress, you may become a worse foster mother, wife, and person. You get difficult to be around, and everyone suffers.
The stress builds and builds.
What if you snap? What if you can't get your life together in the new year? Will you be able to continue to foster? Will you be the best you can be for these children who need you so desperately? If not, what will happen to these precious children? Will you be so stressed you must call to have them removed from your home?
There is a better way!
Meeting with a therapist could help. What if I said there was a therapist who knew what you were going through firsthand? My friend Cathleen, a therapist, has a few options for you to learn about stress, deal with it, and overcome it - all from a foster mother's perspective. You'll be better equipped to impress value in a child's mind.
Check out her options and delve into one here: https://fearlessfostering.teachable.com/courses/solutions-for-foster-care-stress?affcode=226915_g7_8ojca
When you take care of the stress, you'll be more productive. You'll feel better, happier, stronger, and more capable. You'll be yourself again. You can rejuvenate yourself from the inside out.
Take the plunge. Go the extra mile. Little people depend on you.
Leave a note to let me know what you learned from her course. Would you recommend any of these courses to future foster mothers? Let me know.
