![]() ![]() I had one child who left to go to a relative that I was really impressed with. Hopefully, the most common experience you will have as a foster parent is having a child leave your home and feeling good about it. When a Child Leaves and You Feel Good About It “What is best” for a child is not this article’s topic, so I will stick to addressing the raw feelings you may have when a child leaves, not whether or not the child should have left. However, the feelings foster families experience when a child leaves are still valid. Only God truly knows what goes on behind closed doors in a home. Just because you feel like a situation is good or bad does not make it true. Notice first that I used the words “feel” in those descriptions. But normally, there are two main types: a child leaving into a situation in which the foster family feels is good or acceptable, and a child leaving into a situation in which the foster family feels is not good or even dangerous. Two Types of GoodbyesĪfter five years of being a foster parent and over two years of mentoring foster families, I have seen many different goodbyes. I currently have two kids that I have fostered for almost three years, and discussions of them leaving have never stopped. As a foster parent mentor, I have walked many foster families through this. ![]() Having a child in foster care leave is not something that is in the distant past for me. As you are reminded of all the indescribable and complex feelings of grief, happiness, and everything in between, know I am as well. As tears fall from your eyes, tears are falling from mine. I have said goodbye six times to children. I am not writing this as someone who has never experienced this loss. Or maybe the feelings of constant dread and anxiety of a long transition plan while you see the child you love struggle to leave the only home they remember. If you have experienced a child in foster care leaving your home, this title likely made your heart sink. ![]()
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