GPS

Nothing exciting to report from GPS last night but I like to be consistent so I will go ahead and post about it. Only 2 weeks left and then we will have a panel discussion for the final one (3 total). I can't believe it's almost over!!! I really need to get my act together and get the CPR certification and get my finger prints done!

 

Last night we discussed helping children connect with their birth parents. As the saying goes, "I can talk bad about the people I love but YOU can't," you really have to watch what you say about a foster child's parents. No matter how bad their home life is/was their parents are still a part of their identity and if you talk bad about their parents they feel like you are really talking bad about them personally. Also you need to be sensitive to their cultural differences and traditions and learn how to cook things they like, fix their hair if it's different than yours, etc. This helps them keep their identity versus you trying to mold them to be like you.

 

Another interesting discussion was about a child's "fantasy" birth parents. An example was a 10 year old in a foster home with a 13 year old boy. The 10 year old tells the 13 year old that his real dad plays for the Titans and they can get tickets to go to a game sometime even though his dad is really in jail. When the 13 year old excitedly tells his dad this news, how should the dad respond? The dad knows the foster child's dad is in jail and the boy is lying. Some might think the kid needs to be disciplined for lying. Some might correct the child in front of their son causing the boy to argue that his dad really is a football player. The best way to handle it is to take the boy aside and remind him that his dad is in jail. He doesn't have to have a famous dad to be accepted. They loved him regardless of who his dad is.

 

Anyway, that was just an interesting analogy to me. Every time we talk about different scenarios I think, wow, what would I do in this situation had I not been in training. I hope I wouldn't discipline that child or correct him in front of the other boy but sometimes you act without thinking, ya know.

 

That's about it for this week's GPS update.