Understanding the First Week of a Foster Placement

 It is no secret that foster children go through a great deal of emotional upheaval in the first week after being placed in a new home. This upheaval can manifest itself in many ways, from withdrawing and isolating themselves to exhibiting disruptive behavior. It is important for foster parents to understand these emotions and be prepared to help foster children adjust to their new environment.

First Week Feelings
These feelings can lead them to shut down emotionally or act out in an attempt to regain some control over their lives. As a foster parent, it is important for you to recognize this behavior as a symptom of grief and provide the necessary support your child needs during this difficult transition period.

• Grieving the Loss of their Old Home - The most common emotion that foster children experience during the first week of placement is grief. The child has just lost their previous home, family, friends, and everything they knew—all at once. They are also likely feeling overwhelmed by their new surroundings.
• Fear of Rejection - Foster children may also feel a strong sense of fear when they arrive in their new home – fear that they will not be accepted or loved by their new family members. They may also instinctively fear that belonging to your family will make their biological family reject them in the future.
• Feeling Unsafe - Many foster children may have experienced abuse prior to entering care, so they may feel unsafe in their new environment —even if it looks comfortable on the surface.

 
Ways to Help Foster Children Adjust During the First Week in Placement 
The first week of a placement is often chaotic for everyone involved, but there are several things that you can do as a foster parent in order to help your foster child adjust more easily:
 

1. Introduce them into your family dynamic slowly. Don’t bombard them with lots of toys, house rules, or people. Take it as slow as is feasible for your family. 
2. Validate their feelings. Tell them it’s okay to feel mad, sad, or scared about their move from their biological family or former foster placement.
3. Let them know they are loved by both your family and their biological family. Make sure they know that there is always someone who cares about them and wants them around.
4. Create routines which helps create structure and predictability during what can be an otherwise unpredictable time in their lives. This includes bedtime rituals like reading stories together before bed or making sure meals happen at the same time each day. Also, explaining what the plan for the day, week, weekend, or outing, as well as what is expected on behavior during those specific times will help them not have to guess what is happening when a routine is not possible.   
5. Providing comfort items like blankets or stuffed animals, and favorite foods, shows or music can help create familiarity within the home and make your child feel more secure and relaxed during this stressful time period.

 
The first week after being placed in a new home can be an incredibly difficult time for any foster child—and understanding how these emotions manifest themselves is key for fostering successful relationships between caregivers and those in care. By recognizing their feelings, you can better equip yourself with the knowledge needed to provide emotional support for your newly-placed foster child during this challenging transition period. With patience, love, understanding, you can help your foster child find success in his or her forever home!