Welcoming your first Foster child into your home for their placement or first-weekend stay can be an overwhelming thing as you want to make them feel comfortable and safe in your home. It is likely it is also important to you that you make a good first impression with your foster child so that they feel comfortable talking to you and spending time with you in your home.
To help you with this transition, we have listed some great ideas and tricks you can implement to help prepare your spare room and turn it into an incredible oasis for your foster child.
If you are not sure what age or gender your foster child will be, or if you will have siblings or babies then it can be tricky to know what format you should set up your room with. Especially if you are choosing to participate in the respite care program where you may have different children each month for the weekend. Bunk beds can sound ideal for space-saving, but if you do have the space then just know that they are ridiculously difficult to change the sheets in the middle of the night (or anytime really)! An option could be to go with a single bed and a pack-and-play so that you can use the pack-and-play for the short term for a baby and get a crib later if they are staying longer than the weekend.
When it comes to the storage of toys and clothing, these cube storage boxes can be a great solution to store a range of items that you don’t use when your child is not at your home or to keep everything neat and tidy in their room. You can store toys on the lower level and clothing for your easy access at the top levels. You can be very creative with how you set up these cube storage shelves to find something that works best for you.
When your foster children come to stay in your home they often come with very few belongings and you may want to think about having a box or container that is set up just for them to use to store little trinkets or gifts or things that you buy for them that they get to use when they come like special pyjamas or teddies. Finding a box and labelling it with their name, gives them ownership over something that is theirs and makes them feel so valued in your home. A great option for this can be getting a clear plastic under-bed storage container that they can just roll out from under the bed when they come over.
Are you not sure how to make sure you keep their clothing and washing separate from your own kids? Or even just having multiple kids in the house can make for a lot of laundry!! And unless you love doing laundry, it is a nightmare to have to sort through all the washing after and work out whose clothing is whose, especially if you have your own children the same clothing size as your foster child. One suggestion is to have a dirty clothes basket for each child that is labelled and when it is full, you do one load with everything in that basket and then that basket of clean clothes goes back to the child’s room. This means that you are not mixing all of the clothing. Don’t even fold the washing if that stresses you out. Time with your family is more important than folded laundry.
When it comes to decor, keep the room fairly neutral so that the room will work for the tastes of any child that you have. You can add flairs to it if you end up with a long-term placement, but otherwise having a neutral room can be a great way for it to feel welcoming and comfortable for any child. Here are a few great ideas we have found on Pinterest for inspiration to get you started:
Another little tip is to include a night light in the room. Even for older children, this can help give them a sense of calm and security when sleeping in a new room that they haven’t slept in before and minimise the fear of getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
If your foster child ends up staying with you for longer placement, then giving them the opportunity to decorate their own room or add touches to the space that makes it feel like their own is such a special gift you can give them. It doesn’t have to be expensive items. It can be as simple as allowing them to print out photos of themselves and their friends to stick on the wall or choosing posters out of magazines to stick up, or buying a quirky lamp or rug for the floor. It is those small touches and allowing them to choose it themselves that makes your foster child feel loved, accepted and valued in your home. Which is that not the most precious gift you can give a child!?
Hopefully, these ideas can help you to create an incredible space for your foster child as you are starting your Foster Care journey.
If you want to know more about becoming a Foster Carer, then you can read more on our website here: http://glenhaven.com.au/foster/
You can also enquire there too about speaking with our friendly team to ask them any of your questions.
