Consider Siblings

Just wanted to share something that was on my heart today.

When I decided to foster I originally planned to care for 1 child at a time. I’m so thankful for the social worker who asked, “are you sure you just want one?” Following that she told me something I found bizarre. “Two children aren’t really any more work than one.” As I thought to myself, you gotta be kidding me I found myself saying, “ok I’ll consider it.” What I didn’t yet know was that her words were more than true. Two are easier than one. Children came to my home fearful but they had one constant- their sibling. Keeping that connection in tact was vital to the speed of their adjustment. Older siblings helped the youngers adjust as they taught me what they were used to, interpreted their unclear speech, and more. Younger siblings played more freely, were more secure, and less clingy when olders were around.

If you find yourself fostering or adopting consider siblings. I am confident you’ll be glad you did!

Sibling connections are special and should be cherished and protected.

Side note: If you are unable to take your foster child’s siblings in find ways to keep the connection. Invite siblings to birthday parties, outings, etc. Allow your foster children to regularly talk with their siblings via phone, FaceTime, email, text, etc.