{"id":9784,"date":"2021-10-07T15:11:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T15:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.childrensbureau.org\/?p=9784"},"modified":"2025-02-25T12:05:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T17:05:33","slug":"kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Kris’ Corner – How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know I have previously talked about the impact fostering has\u00a0had\u00a0on\u00a0my own family\u2019s\u00a0biological kids\u2026and all the worry about it that we (and many other parents) experienced prior to jumping into foster care.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019d like to\u00a0take it further\u00a0and\u00a0talk about the impact it has\u00a0on ALL\u00a0other kids in\u00a0a\u00a0home;\u00a0this could, of course,\u00a0be biological children, but it could also be adopted children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Regardless of how children came into the house initially,\u00a0fostering\u00a0would\u00a0have\u00a0an\u00a0impact on\u00a0any and\u00a0all of them. So,\u00a0you have to consider this\u00a0impact\u00a0on\u00a0each family member, as well as how it might play out with a child\u2019s needs (those of either a biological or adopted child, or another foster child), and how those needs impact the entire household.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To\u00a0give additional perspective on this topic, I reached out to\u00a0other moms\u00a0in my support group to\u00a0gather their thoughts on how the children in their homes have been affected by being a foster family.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Clearly your children may be affected differently than the ladies who gave insight below\u2026and that\u2019s understandable,\u00a0because every child is different. But regardless of your decision in placement type (age, gender, number of children, special needs, etc.), your children will be impacted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what one mom with two biological, three adopted,\u00a0and one foster\u00a0child\u00a0had to say about how her children now view their own future families\u00a0and\u00a0how they\u2019ve been brought together and connected through the experience:\u00a0\u201cWell, I have a couple kids who don\u2019t want to have many,\u00a0if any,\u00a0children, and a couple of kids who will probably have a houseful.\u00a0But most importantly, I think\u00a0all of the kids have learned to be aware of the labels that society tends to place on\u00a0the other kids, and to stand up for one another because we are family, and that\u2019s what family does.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another mom with four biological\u00a0children\u00a0and one adopted\u00a0child\u00a0(but has had over 30 foster placements come through her door) freely admitted that she and her husband launched into being a foster family without too much consideration of their other children. She said, “Well to be honest,\u00a0we never really thought about the effect on our kids, but after we had our first placement, and since then, I\u00a0sometimes\u00a0really struggle when I think about what I asked my kids to do: to share their home, their time, their toys,\u00a0and\u00a0their parents and grandparents. Everything that was rightfully theirs,\u00a0basically.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But over time, she went on to realize that the experience of being a foster family has strengthened the religious faith of her children in a way she never anticipated.\u00a0\u201cI talk to a lot of people wanting to foster,\u00a0and I get asked about the\u00a0affect\u00a0on my kids a lot. I didn’t used to know how to respond. There are times foster care has made my kids grow and feel happy, and other times\u00a0it\u00a0has been absolute devastation, loss and anger\u2026but\u00a0overall\u00a0it has grown them so much. So now when people ask me\u00a0\u2018but what about your kids?\u2019\u00a0I say it has taught my kids more about the love of God than any nightly devotion I could have ever read to them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Not just words but actions\u2026actions speak louder!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a mama\u2019s thoughts on the experiences of her two daughters, both of whom were adopted through foster care,\u00a0while the\u00a0famiy\u00a0has continued to foster other children:\u00a0\u201cAt f<\/span>irst, I had a real fear for their hearts in the process.\u00a0Obviously\u00a0it\u2019s heartbreaking for all of us when a baby leaves our home. But through foster care, our children are learning compassion for babies and for their parents. They are learning to live every day in the moment and love with all their being today…\u00a0right now…\u00a0without worrying about tomorrow.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And lastly, a mother of four biological\u00a0children\u00a0and three foster\u00a0children\u00a0shared a real-life moment in their lives which gave her\u00a0peace that foster care is impacting her children for the better:\u00a0\u201cOn a car ride home one day, our little foster daughter got sick. The kind of sick that you don\u2019t even have to look back to know it\u2019s bad because the sound alone was enough to tell you.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe pulled into the garage,\u00a0and my girls all helped without hesitation or even being asked. Someone ran bath water. Another got the baby. Another got the toddler out of the car and got him a snack. And I grabbed every cleaning chemical we owned.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn moments like these, I typically worry that the girls are missing out on a carefree childhood or that I ask too much of them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday while considering if I should just pitch the car seat, my worry was reframed: what if my girls were blissfully unaware of the needs of others? Without moments like this, would they truly understand that no matter what, in our family we will do that messy stuff of life together?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in a world full of\u00a0people who have no one to do the messy parts of life with them. I want my children to know that even the people who don\u2019t look or act like you need someone,\u00a0too. They need care, compassion,\u00a0and kindness. They have physical and emotional needs that we can help meet.\u00a0So\u00a0as I reflect on those things, I\u2019m thankful for the lessons that we have all learned through being a foster family.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What more can I say? These ladies have said it all beautifully! And I hope their words of encouragement will spur you on to jump into foster care\u2026even if you do worry a little bit about how it might impact your children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kris<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know I have previously talked about the impact fostering has\u00a0had\u00a0on\u00a0my own family\u2019s\u00a0biological kids\u2026and all the worry about it that we (and many other parents) experienced prior to jumping into foster care.\u00a0 Today, I\u2019d like to\u00a0take it further\u00a0and\u00a0talk about the impact it has\u00a0on ALL\u00a0other kids in\u00a0a\u00a0home;\u00a0this could, of course,\u00a0be biological children, but it could also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"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-9784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kriss-corner"],"yoast_head":"\nKris' Corner - How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home - Firefly Children and Family Alliance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kris' Corner - How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home - Firefly Children and Family Alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I know I have previously talked about the impact fostering has\u00a0had\u00a0on\u00a0my own family\u2019s\u00a0biological kids\u2026and all the worry about it that we (and many other parents) experienced prior to jumping into foster care.\u00a0 Today, I\u2019d like to\u00a0take it further\u00a0and\u00a0talk about the impact it has\u00a0on ALL\u00a0other kids in\u00a0a\u00a0home;\u00a0this could, of course,\u00a0be biological children, but it could also […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-07T15:11:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-25T17:05:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a0a717d05ab7bca77c74ce89ec295bf\"},\"headline\":\"Kris’ Corner – How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-07T15:11:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-25T17:05:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":993,\"articleSection\":[\"Kris' Corner\"],\"inLanguage\":\"cnh\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kris' Corner - How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home - Firefly Children and Family Alliance\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-07T15:11:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-25T17:05:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a0a717d05ab7bca77c74ce89ec295bf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"cnh\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kris’ Corner – How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\",\"description\":\"foster parents impact, foster kids, foster parents needed, a foster parent's role\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"cnh\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a0a717d05ab7bca77c74ce89ec295bf\",\"name\":\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"cnh\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/05d76712c41f02a8e2d8f22346b1a85e7f00cb4436efc2fa6670ee39129fd71b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/05d76712c41f02a8e2d8f22346b1a85e7f00cb4436efc2fa6670ee39129fd71b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/05d76712c41f02a8e2d8f22346b1a85e7f00cb4436efc2fa6670ee39129fd71b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Firefly Children and Family Alliance\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/fireflyin.org\\\/cnh\\\/resources\\\/news-library\\\/author\\\/firefly-children-and-family-alliance\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kris' Corner - How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home - Firefly Children and Family Alliance","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kris' Corner - How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home - Firefly Children and Family Alliance","og_description":"I know I have previously talked about the impact fostering has\u00a0had\u00a0on\u00a0my own family\u2019s\u00a0biological kids\u2026and all the worry about it that we (and many other parents) experienced prior to jumping into foster care.\u00a0 Today, I\u2019d like to\u00a0take it further\u00a0and\u00a0talk about the impact it has\u00a0on ALL\u00a0other kids in\u00a0a\u00a0home;\u00a0this could, of course,\u00a0be biological children, but it could also […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/","og_site_name":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance","article_published_time":"2021-10-07T15:11:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-25T17:05:33+00:00","author":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/"},"author":{"name":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance","@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4a0a717d05ab7bca77c74ce89ec295bf"},"headline":"Kris’ Corner – How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home","datePublished":"2021-10-07T15:11:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-25T17:05:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/"},"wordCount":993,"articleSection":["Kris' Corner"],"inLanguage":"cnh"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/","url":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/","name":"Kris' Corner - How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home - Firefly Children and Family Alliance","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-10-07T15:11:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-25T17:05:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4a0a717d05ab7bca77c74ce89ec295bf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"cnh","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/resources\/news-library\/kris-corner-how-does-fostering-affect-other-kids-in-the-home\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kris’ Corner – How Does Fostering Affect Other Kids in the Home"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/","name":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance","description":"foster parents impact, foster kids, foster parents needed, a foster parent's role","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"cnh"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4a0a717d05ab7bca77c74ce89ec295bf","name":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"cnh","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05d76712c41f02a8e2d8f22346b1a85e7f00cb4436efc2fa6670ee39129fd71b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05d76712c41f02a8e2d8f22346b1a85e7f00cb4436efc2fa6670ee39129fd71b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05d76712c41f02a8e2d8f22346b1a85e7f00cb4436efc2fa6670ee39129fd71b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Firefly Children and Family Alliance"},"url":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/resources\/news-library\/author\/firefly-children-and-family-alliance\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9784\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fireflyin.org\/cnh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}