OK, so there are days when I have the thought, \u201cI am too old for this!\u201d But, I know it is not really true. Naturally, there may be an age when an individual might be too old to foster, which will vary from person to person\u2026I\u2019ll grant you that. But, it is WAY older than what people would have me try to believe. And I know it is older than me!<\/p>\n
So let\u2019s be real for a minute. Many people (some of whom are younger than me and I\u2019m not THAT old\u2026can you tell I might be a touch sensitive about this?!) tell me that they are too old to be a foster parent. It\u2019s not a health issue, it\u2019s not a money issue, it\u2019s not a space issue (empty-nesters, I\u2019m talking to you)\u2026but instead they tell me they are too old.<\/p>\n
Um, no\u2026you are not. And let me tell you why. Because the older you get, the wiser you get; the more seasoned you get; and sometimes the more mellow you get. And believe me, uptight parenting is the last thing kids from hard places need.<\/p>\n
Not that I am a mellow parent, by any stretch (no need to verify this with my children, because they will throw me right under the bus). But, I am definitely much more relaxed in my approach to parenting than I was with my older two kids (especially the oldest one\u2026sorry about that, dude).<\/p>\n
Think: grandparents. That doesn\u2019t mean you are grandparents or are old enough to be grandparents, so don\u2019t walk away from this blog and think that I am calling you old, because I am not. But then again, you might be grandparents, and that totally works too! My point here is this: when you consider the ideal grandparents and how warm, welcoming, loving and tender they can be\u2026plus they are often a little bit more chill in how they handle things\u2026this sounds more like an ideal kind of foster parent, right?<\/p>\n
Just to be clear, chill is not the end-all-be-all. But, I have learned that sometimes I need to take a step back from a child\u2019s undesirable behavior and decide if I need to put a stake in the ground on my response; or, if I can stay regulated myself and realize the child\u2019s choice or behavior is not something that will make or break the day. This is a response on my own part that has come from time and experience and *gasp*\u2026age.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we know better, we do better\u201d\u2026and usually the knowing better and doing better come with age and experience.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Kris<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OK, so there are days when I have the thought, \u201cI am too old for this!\u201d But, I know it is not really true. Naturally, there may be an age when an individual might be too old to foster, which will vary from person to person\u2026I\u2019ll grant you that. But, it is WAY older than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":8764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kriss-corner"],"yoast_head":"\n