It’s hard to ignore the statistics today. There are thousands of American children in need of a safe and supportive home, and although you may consider the role of caretaker now and then, there are not enough foster care homes available to these children today. Some of biggest reasons why we’re afraid to make the foster care commitment is because we don’t know what to expect.
If you continue to push your inner desire and emotional calling to be a foster parent away week after week, we’re going to look at the top reasons why you should become a foster parent in 2018:
- The Numbers: On any given day, there are nearly 428,000 children in foster care in the United States. Looking at 2015 specifically, over 670,000 children spent time in the U.S. foster care system. If nothing else, the numbers don’t lie. There are thousands of children waiting to be welcomed into a warm house they can call home.
- Generational Shifts: Yes, the numbers may be overwhelming, but you have to consider the impact you are having on future generations. By taking a child in, you are changing the course of their life, showing them that they can reach for their dreams and do so with a loving base. Children in your home will learn what it takes for families to be stable, abuse-free, and safe, something they can transfer onto their children.
- A Universal Experience: The skills, emotional depth, and mental development that you will acquire as a foster parent can be applied to everything you do in life thereafter. Your newfound ability to humanize others, understand the story behind every face, and interact with diversity is just a few of the great lessons learned while foster parenting. You will see the bigger picture, and how everything falls into it.
- Changing the Norm: Far too many children grow up in a setting that doesn’t resemble a family. Residential facilities, group homes, and other housing options may cover the basic needs, but they don’t provide the critical family and communal emotional support that comes with a home. It’s this kind of interaction that children require to be stable and functioning adults when they mature.
- They Need You: It’s plain a simple: a displaced child with no home or family is in dire need of anyone that is willing to step up and care for them. At the end of the day, we’re social creatures, requiring communication, emotional support, and access to people that we feel care about us.
TFI
Becoming a foster parent is a monumental decision, one that scares many able-bodied, experienced, and loving individuals away from saying yes. Here at TFI, we work with you to ensure you are totally equipped and supported every single day, experiencing the foster parenting journey with right by your side. Consider filling out an application today.