Vol. 15, No. 1 • November 2010

What Foster Parents Really Do!

By Marti, age 16

A foster child does not ever have to worry about where the next meal is going to come from or if they will get to lay down in a warm bed or have to sleep in a box in the cold. A foster child has the chance at a life that could have never been reached.

Take me, for example. . . . I count my lucky stars that I have people in my life that care about me and my well being enough to supply all my needs and most of my wants.

Foster parents spend a lot of time taking their child to and from counseling centers and doctor appointments. They also have monthly treatment teams and supervisions once a week, as well as a skill-building specialist that spends so many hours a week with that child. A foster parent has a lot to deal with on a weekly basis. . . . Personally, I think that they have to deal with a lot more than normal parents. . . .

Fostering gives parents a way to give back and change the life of a child. A child deserves to belong to a family who cares about them on so many levels. [Foster parents] do not try to replace the birth family. They try to give the child a better home. Childhood memories are something that can never be replaced.

Family helps define our very identity. This is why it is important to have parents in our lives that devote time, supply all our needs, and love us the way parents should. Family means believing, loving, and supporting each other. . . .

I wouldn’t be half the daughter, student, or young lady I am today if it wasn’t for the wonderful, gracious foster parents I have been placed with. Basically, foster parents are completely awesome.

Marti received an award of $15 for having her essay published.

Copyright � 2010 Jordan Institute for Families