What is it like to be in foster care?
What is it like to be in foster care?
This is a post that is very near to me. My 12-year-old daughter wrote it for me. She was excited to write it so that others would know what it was like to be in foster care. She also has some advice for the foster care agencies or the DHHR. Here is her story:
I was in foster care twice.
The first time my sister and I were in foster care, we went to so many houses, I lost count. At one house me and the foster parents argued over me geing old enough to go to preschool. I was five already and I knew what I could and couldn’t do. That was the last house. We went home.
But only got to stay for that summer because my parents had gotten into more trouble. They ran out of houses to take us in. Before officially going into foster care, we went to relatives' homes. We went to our uncles’ house.
I loved pink and purple, rock stars, and wanted to be a pop star. I remember my uncle had a big house on a hill. He even had a lake. After two months his sons came home from college and needed their room back.
What is it like to be in foster care?
We went to the Department of Health and Human Resources, the Child Protective Services department. My sister and I arrived early in the morning, so one of the social workers who were responsible for watching us had enough time to cornrow some of my hair.
When we showed up at the foster family’s home, there were so many people there and my little sister started crying. She really didn’t understand everything.
Because she was only three years old, she cried until she fell asleep while the oldest daughter held her.
Settling into our home...
After we were settled in, we got to play outside. We met our neighbors. They had three kids that were about our age and the oldest went to the same school as me.
After three months, my youngest sister was born. She also came to live with us too. Also, two other boys came to the foster home.
These boys were me and my sister’s ages. We could play with them and the neighbors. It was a lot of fun.
What is it like to be in foster care?
As a former foster child, I think the system could be better. They could create personality tests for the foster parents to get them the right kid for them. This could lead to getting more kids out of the system through adoptions when the time is right. But not all of the time people adopt kids. I also think that the kids should get a one-month trial at the foster house. At the end of the trial, the kids will summarize their stay. That way the DHHR will be able to root all of the people in it just for the money.
Memories
Before I and my sister were placed into foster care, I remember I used to be the opposite of a girly girl. I used to get boy McDonald’s toys. I also used to spend my days helping my pawpaw work on cars and buildings. One afternoon, we were building a shed for him to put his pool table in. I was bringing a long piece of wood when a nail on the board had gotten caught on my knee. Then I screamed and everyone came running to help me.
Soon, I got bandaged up. It took a while to get the nail out, but we did. I still have the scar to this day. That’s just one of the many memories I have.
I also have memories of my mawmaw taking me to the little church up on top of the hill.
WOW; what insight from a girl's perspective. I am so proud of her for writing this for me. And, I thank her immensely. I hope that as she grows she can write more and even speak on behalf of foster children. She has been adopted for several years now - along with her two sisters. They have completed our family.
She is a great writer, makes excellent grades, and is very creative. She loves to sew, crochet, draw, paint, and bake. My favorite thing that she makes is pumpkin fudge. YUM.....
For more stories of foster care and foster parenting, check out these links:
https://impressingminds.com/10-reasons-to-foster-teens/
https://impressingminds.com/this-is-4-year-old-kayla/
https://impressingminds.com/fatherlessness-in-the-united-states/
What do you think it is like to be in foster care?
For other perspectives visit https://www.huffpost.com/entry/six-things-you-should-kno_b_7605666#:~:text=Foster%20kids%20are%20just%20kids,from%20more%20hurt%20and%20rejection.