A Conversation About Foster Care

Welcome back to Taylor Talks!

Have you ever talked to a child about why they were placed into foster care? Have you ever looked a kid in the eye and explained why they were put into the system?

As I mentioned a while ago, my brother started asking questions about all of the foster kids we've taken in over the years. Specifically, he was asking my mom why everyone was placed with us. He wanted to know what his own story was, why he had been placed in our home at such a young age. He took the time to sit down with my mom to ask questions, get some answers, and try to understand a little bit about each of the children who have lived in our home.

My brother is twelve years old now, which is old enough to understand some of the reasons why kids are placed into foster care. But he was only two when he came to live with us, and in kindergarten at the time of his adoption; there was no way that he would have understood the severity of foster care at that time, nor would my parents have even thought to have that kind of conversation with him then. Now he's old enough to show some interest in everyone's backgrounds, much like a biological child might start asking about family history at a certain age.

Of course, talking about foster care with a child depends on the individual child and their maturity level. While my brother just started asking serious questions about foster care a few weeks ago, my other brother was actually well aware of what was going on with his case between the ages of four and six. Each child is so different with what they can understand and handle at any given age. But I don't remember any other specific instances when a sibling of mine has talked to my mom or dad about their background or why anyone was put into foster care.

So I started with a question... Have you ever talked to a child about why there were placed into foster care? I'm really curious about what everyone has to say. Do you think that there's a specific age when you should sit down a child and tell them about their background prior to living with a foster/adoptive family? I don't really know if there's a good age to tell a child about the negative parts of their childhood. As I said, I guess it would depend on the child, but maybe it's better to wait until a child is at least in middle school. They need to be old enough to understand that the past is just where they came from, and that it shouldn't dictate where their future goes. But what do you all think?

After hitting 100 likes on my Facebook author page, I'm really excited about expanding my audience! I'm so thankful for all of the continual support! I'm still pushing toward my goal of 150 likes, and when I hit that mark, I'll share information about my first novel that I think you'll enjoy. So please don't forget to like the page if you haven't done so yet, and share it with your friends! Just click on the link, or click "like" and "share" on the top right of any blog page here!

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Thanks!
Taylor

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