Our current (NZ) foster care system prioritises placements with kin and provides financial assistance. An acquaintance has fostered a 2nd cousin's child for some years now (since the child was 11?). It's exposed their own younger 'only child' to another whole sprawling set of relatives (for the better . . .and worse?).
As a toddler (3yo?) my Mum thought to 'do good for her community' while providing me with a playmate (my 2, several years older, siblings were born only 11 months apart and had been 'great playmates') by taking in a foster child.
It only lasted a week or two. I don't remember this, but I gather I was jealous. Somehow wreaking the toys allocated to the interloper and refusing to play with him.
In my 20's I worked with a guy who had been raised in the foster system. A good guy though somewhat brittle/vulnerable. At the time I didn't think about it, though perhaps some of that came from his childhood experiences.
> The average foster child would have been better off in their birth families.
Ive been saying this for some time, but (ironically) it was based on observation rather than actual studies.
Tove, this is a lovely review of Rob Henderson’s book, and it would be a shame if it weren’t more widely distributed.
Three anecdotes:
Our current (NZ) foster care system prioritises placements with kin and provides financial assistance. An acquaintance has fostered a 2nd cousin's child for some years now (since the child was 11?). It's exposed their own younger 'only child' to another whole sprawling set of relatives (for the better . . .and worse?).
As a toddler (3yo?) my Mum thought to 'do good for her community' while providing me with a playmate (my 2, several years older, siblings were born only 11 months apart and had been 'great playmates') by taking in a foster child.
It only lasted a week or two. I don't remember this, but I gather I was jealous. Somehow wreaking the toys allocated to the interloper and refusing to play with him.
In my 20's I worked with a guy who had been raised in the foster system. A good guy though somewhat brittle/vulnerable. At the time I didn't think about it, though perhaps some of that came from his childhood experiences.
Heather
One observation . . .
The family can be viewed as instituted by the Creator to enable humans to complete his purpose
- ‘male and female he created them. Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth.’”
A human replacement for a divine arrangement hasn’t proved beneficial.
Thanks
Clay