Adopt A Child | How to Know When Your Child Needs Therapy

Adopt A Child | Your journey to become a foster parent (resource parent) is a noble and worthy cause in helping hurting children. When that child is first placed in your home it is easy for parents to get overwhelmed with the various and sometimes bizarre behaviors that foster children can express. It can be hard for foster parents to see through the behaviors to the real issues that lie beneath the surface. Here are 3 ways to know if your foster child needs therapy:

It’s Not Working

You have been consistent in your parenting. You have set clear boundaries and have guided your foster child when those lines are crossed. You have gone back to your education materials while working to become a foster parent (resource parent). You feel like a broken record when the same behaviors happen over and over again. This is when you will know that you need some extra help. Therapists can help to decode some of these behaviors and may even see things in your life that you have overlooked.

Gentle Suggestions

When you are talking to a close friend or family member you may have noticed that they bring up the idea of therapy for your foster child. You may think that you can handle the behavior yourself but be aware of the gentle suggestions from those in your life you have your best interest at heart. Usually, it is hard for foster parents to see the whole picture of their child’s behavior when they are in the daily struggles of parenting.

Taking a Weight Off

You will know that you are ready to get your foster child into therapy when you talk about the possibility of therapy and feel a huge weight taken off your shoulders. Sometimes foster parents can feel so overwhelmed by their child’s behaviors that they feel that they have to work alone in helping their child. Making that first phone call to a therapist or sitting down for a consultation can bring so much hope and relieve the pressure that many foster parents feel.

You definitely aren’t alone in your journey to become a foster parent (resource parent). There are many resources and help when it comes to parenting your foster child. Contact Children First Foster Family Agency today for a referral to a great therapist in your area that will help make life easier for both you and your foster child.