| |
Ways You Can Support Family Relationships
|
- While referencing birth parents, always convey respect.
- When talking with a child, drop the tag “birth”. Instead refer to “your mom”, “your dad”.
- Avoid jumping to conclusions or being judgmental. As Tracee explains, “You have your own perception of what kind of person they are, but you don’t know until you ask them,”
- If a child chooses to tell his story or discuss his
family relationships, be a good listener. Listen and encourage the child without making judgments about the decisions of a birth parent.
- Many times children will feel a pressure to choose which parents to side
with. If a child brings up this topic, support her by working the idea that she’s capable of sharing and receiving love for both her family and her foster or adoptive family.
- Offer to watch a foster family’s other kids during a scheduled visitation with the birth parents.
- With the consent of foster parents, offer to frame or laminate a photo of the child and her parent to display on a night stand or keep in a backpack.
|
|
|
|
