This morning, I saw something on one of the foster care pages I'm part of on Facebook that gave me pause. It touched on a subject that was close to my heart, and I wanted to speak about it here.
I was quite surprised to see that there were a variety of responses. Some parents will correct people who don't use the term "foster," while others say that it doesn't matter where the children came from or how long they've been part of the family, because from the moment they walk through the door they belong.
If anyone needs to guess as to the way my parents and I feel about this subject, you're either reading my blog for the very first time tonight, or I haven't done a good job of explaining my life! Clearly all of the foster children who have entered our home have been my siblings, the children of my parents, part of our family, for as long as they were with us and even after that. I still consider each of the children who left our home to be my siblings, no matter how long they were a part of my life.
I think that if you take in foster children and continually make a point of labeling them as such, then you're not doing any good for them. You are their family while they can't be with their biological family, so you need to love those kids and treat them as your own flesh and blood. If you label them the "foster kids" and single them out every chance you get, then they're always going to feel self-conscious and out of place. You want them to understand what love is and how wonderful it can feel to be part of a family setting, so that they'll have a taste of what they should be striving for as they get older, no matter how their lives turn out after leaving your care.
Just a reminder that my book, "A Christmas For Toys," is on sale at Amazon! Get your copy today for just $9.50... It's been rated 5-stars and has received great reviews so far. It's the perfect book to read with your little ones as you snuggle up this holiday season!
Thank you so much for your continued support! I look forward to sharing more stories about my experience with foster care, and hopefully hearing from readers who have questions or similar stories to share. I'm always willing to answer questions and hear about other experiences! Please don't forget to like and share my Facebook author page as well!
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Thanks!
Taylor