Children come into the foster care system at some of the most difficult times in their lives. They are often emotionally traumatized and may have difficulty in accepting that there are loving people in the world that just want them to have the best possible in life. They are also often physically injured, with broken bones, broken spirits and broken hopes of every being around people who were safe and caring.
Most of these children have experienced difficulties that would make adults want to simply curl up and hide from the world, but these tiny little beings manage to find a way to survive, even if it creates challenging behavior and social and emotional problems that take time, patience, understanding, and love to correct.
The Amazing Gift of Foster Families
This time, patience, love, and understanding are provided by the foster parents and foster families. These people reach out to children that have been hurt, neglected, abandoned, and abused, and they shower them with the unconditional love, support, and positive environment to help them to grow and thrive.
Through this interaction, the child in foster care begins to trust, to smile, and to believe in a world that offers possibilities, potential and meaningful relationships full of love, laughter, and possibilities. They have a place and a safe, loving family where they can be a child, develop their talents and skills, and feel good about themselves.
The Gift of Children
At the same time, the foster families also receive a true gift. They are able to be a part of an amazing transformation for these children, to see them blossom and grow, and to create meaningful experiences and bonds that will last for a lifetime.
Since 1988, May has been National Foster Care Month. This is a perfect time to thank a foster care family in your neighborhood and to get involved in foster care support and services. Consider donating to Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation. We fund resources for children in Arizona foster care to live just like anyone else, whether it’s buying their first instrument or granting a college scholarship.
Our Stories
In honor of National Foster Care Month, Arizona Friends of Foster Children is featuring real stories from real foster parents.
She sang it thousands of times.
Baby, baby…
Walking back and forth up and down the hall for hours at a time swaddling a detoxing newborn.
I love my little baby…
To the three year old with a three word vocabulary consisting solely of derogatory and profane words.
You’re my little pumpkin pie…
To the two year old so neglected he couldn’t even make sounds and only knew how to communicate with biting and hitting.
I love my little baby…
To the two month old baby with a broken leg and a chest full of broken ribs, who just slept and slept through the pain and never cried.
Baby, baby…
To the five year old crying in her lap because she didn’t want to have her birthday party living in a car this year.
I love my little baby…
To the nine year old girl who didn’t know how to communicate with anything but lies, even about the most inconsequential topics.
You’re my little sweetie pie…
To the three year old girl who showed up with teeth rotting from her head and so filthy that it took three tubs of bath water for just the dirt and then weeks more for the odors to fully leave her hair.
I love my little baby.
My mom sang that song, honestly not even a real song but just one from her heart, to every kid who came to our home battered and broken for the fifteen years my parents were foster parents. Put together it all sounds so awful, and not a single person would argue that things like this should just never happen to children. So let me tell you the rest of the story, because days, and weeks, and months, and sometimes years of those gentle lyrics being sung in children’s ears meant…
That baby grew from a scrawny and unhealthy infant into a toddler who loved playing outside and my mom’s spaghetti.
That profanity laced three year old turned into a warm-hearted, loving girl who loved to sing and have dance parties, and who loved the “pink car” we passed every day on her way to school.
That two year old blossomed into an articulate young boy who loved to do sprints in the backyard and talk about “Bubba da Deen” (Lightning McQueen).
That two month old baby boy grew a smile almost too big for his sweet face and as he got older would start to turn any two objects into a ball and a baseball bat like he was preparing for the MLB.
That five year old girl was the lead in her kindergarten show and the star of her pee wee soccer team (and of course had a cake AND cookies at her birthday party).
That nine year old young girl went from failing all her classes and conversations about being held back to passing each and every one the next quarter.
And that little three year old girl made many visits to the dentist, found her little diva personality, and became the sassy princess she was meant to be.
No child should ever experience the trauma that leads to foster care, but I’m grateful that when they do, there are incredible people who step up to love on, advocate for, and care for them as they navigate their way through an unfair childhood. And maybe in this month of May, and to honor National Foster Care Awareness month, we can all step up and do our small part; donate to a charity that supports foster kids or foster families decide to volunteer as a CASA and advocate for these kids in court, volunteer locally as a mentor, send movie gift cards to a local group home, or maybe, if you feel so inclined, decide to become a foster parent yourself. Our family has a unique shared experience of so much heartache, laughter, love, and pure joy wrapped up in the stories of sixteen kids. It’s weird because in my adult life these stories, and something that was so instrumental to who I am, doesn’t casually surface in conversation anymore. But I will say, that whenever I’m among family it’s rare we have a conversation without a memory of one of them, because that journey was such a gift to each of us.