Summer time! For many families, it is a time of summer vacation; trips to the beach, a visit to relatives, a day spent at an amusement park, and summer camp for the kids. Summer is also a time where families come together, spending quality time, as well as quantity time with each other. However, for children in foster care, it can also be a time of emptiness, loneliness, and inactivity. Many children in care have never had a “summer vacation” before coming into care. Perhaps their biological family was unable to provide that trip to the beach. Perhaps these children in need never attended a summer camp beforehand. Perhaps there simply was not anyone around to play with, or even to talk to.
Being a foster parent has many rewards. One of these is the chance to give children in foster care new experiences; experiences that can be found during summer time and school vacations. To be sure, these vacation periods allow for children in care to not only experience some things for the very first time, but also are opportunities for growth, for healing, for learning, and for some children in care, the first real occasion to laugh and simply “be a kid”.
Join the thousands who receive Dr. DeGarmo’s FREE foster care newsletter. Simply fill out the form below.
When one thinks summer vacation from school, one usually thinks of a family trip. Taking a foster child on a summer vacation can be an incredibly rewarding experience for the child. For one, it allows the child to have the opportunity to create some special memories that he might not have had otherwise. For the child, it might be the first time he travels on an airplane, visited the beach or ocean, went camping and spent the night sleeping in a tent, or enjoyed some time at an amusement park. Indeed, vacations allow children in care the chance to see new places and try new things.
Vacations are also times when families are able to bond together as a family unit. Certainly, many children in care have difficulty forming healthy relationships with others, including their foster family. A family vacation is an opportunity for foster families to grow closer, and allows the child the opportunity to break down some of the emotional walls and barriers he has built inside of himself
Become a Special Member of The Foster Care Institute-Amazing Benefits!
If a foster family plans on taking their foster child on vacation with them, it is important that the child’s case worker be notified. Along with this, foster parents should seek the permission of the case worker. If the child is taken over state lines, many times foster parents will also need the permission of the child’s birth parents. Case workers can help with this by obtaining this permission. Foster parents should obtain permission, by both case worker and birth parents, in writing or documentation of some kind, just to be safe. Finally, before leaving on vacation with the child, ensure that the case worker has the contact information and phone numbers of the foster family, in case any emergency should arise.
-Dr. John
Want MORE about foster parenting? Order your copy of the book Called to Foster. An Honest Guide to Getting Started. Order your special copy HERE.
Being a foster parent has many rewards. One of these is the chance to give children in foster care new experiences; experiences that can be found during summer time and school vacations. To be sure, these vacation periods allow for children in care to not only experience some things for the very first time, but also are opportunities for growth, for healing, for learning, and for some children in care, the first real occasion to laugh and simply “be a kid”.
Join the thousands who receive Dr. DeGarmo’s FREE foster care newsletter. Simply fill out the form below.
When one thinks summer vacation from school, one usually thinks of a family trip. Taking a foster child on a summer vacation can be an incredibly rewarding experience for the child. For one, it allows the child to have the opportunity to create some special memories that he might not have had otherwise. For the child, it might be the first time he travels on an airplane, visited the beach or ocean, went camping and spent the night sleeping in a tent, or enjoyed some time at an amusement park. Indeed, vacations allow children in care the chance to see new places and try new things.
Vacations are also times when families are able to bond together as a family unit. Certainly, many children in care have difficulty forming healthy relationships with others, including their foster family. A family vacation is an opportunity for foster families to grow closer, and allows the child the opportunity to break down some of the emotional walls and barriers he has built inside of himself
Become a Special Member of The Foster Care Institute-Amazing Benefits!
If a foster family plans on taking their foster child on vacation with them, it is important that the child’s case worker be notified. Along with this, foster parents should seek the permission of the case worker. If the child is taken over state lines, many times foster parents will also need the permission of the child’s birth parents. Case workers can help with this by obtaining this permission. Foster parents should obtain permission, by both case worker and birth parents, in writing or documentation of some kind, just to be safe. Finally, before leaving on vacation with the child, ensure that the case worker has the contact information and phone numbers of the foster family, in case any emergency should arise.
-Dr. John
Want MORE about foster parenting? Order your copy of the book Called to Foster. An Honest Guide to Getting Started. Order your special copy HERE.
 | |
RSS Feed