When a child comes into the foster care system, they may be wary of the adults around them. There are common signs of attachment concerns and anxiety that must be noted and addressed throughout each placement duration and adults have a big responsibility to get things right. Making young people feel safe is a top priority, and here are the reasons why.
Positive Relationship Models
The reason why agencies like Fosterplus work so hard to provide safe adults for young people in these situations is guided by the positive repercussions of modelling positive relationships. So many children who have unsafe caregivers step into adulthood with a number of negative relationship models, which leaves them more vulnerable to things like domestic abuse or any other form of spousal violence and aggression. When they have just one person who they feel safe with, this can change a lot of the outcomes in their life and give them the scaffolding from which they learn to grow and connect with people that have healthier boundaries.
Recalibrate Their Thinking
It is also important for children coming into a foster home that they are able to unpick what they have been through or continue to go through. They may be missing their birth families a lot or have no attachment to primary parent figures at all; it all depends on their personal circumstances. One thing that remains true is that without a space to recalibrate and process, they are extremely vulnerable to the outside world and will struggle to gain the confidence or self-assuredness to move forward with their lives.
The Benefits of Feeling Safe
Positive role models and safe foster carers mean that a child can begin to develop a sense of self and some more sustainable security in their immediate care environment. The benefits of this will lead to more positive development in general. Additionally, there will be opportunities for therapeutic interventions and extra support in educational settings, which will set them up for success. Trauma and even displacement from their usual home setting can cause a whole load of detrimental symptoms that need guidance and reassurance as they figure things through. Feeling safe with the adults around them is a major part of this journey.
Having an Advocate as a Young Person
A positive adult in their life is also someone who will become their biggest advocate, and this can move mountains in the life of a young person who really needs it. It is often the difference between them engaging and disengaging from school and how they shape their friendships and other peer attachments as well. Having a person to speak for you encourages a child to find their own voice and learn what they are worth, and this should never be underestimated!
Safe carers are those who look out for the children in their homes and use their voice to speak up when things need to go in a different direction. They will enable a young person to grow in the way they are supposed to and provide authentic support, which will stay with them forever.