As a foster parent, you may have a number of questions about parenting. Foster care is different, of course, from raising a biological child: raising a child into a rounded adult. However, many of the principles remain the same. If you are caring yet firm and you feel like you are doing your best as a parent, then that’s what matters. No one can be perfect as a parent, but the point is to make sure that the child knows s/he is loved.

What Every Child Needs: Gentle Encouragement

One of the things any child or, for that matter, any adult needs is encouragement. This can mean encouragement to do well in academics (as opposed to punishment for bad grades). It can mean encouragement to make new friends if they are at a new school. It can mean encouragement to take up extracurricular activities based on what they are interested in and what they are good at.

When a child receives gentle encouragement to do these things, they are more likely to be able to do them and develop a rounded lifestyle.

Encouraging a Child to Grow into a Rounded Adult

Many children, however, disregard certain things when they are not encouraged in a gentle way. For example, if your foster child is not athletic, it can discourage them more if you express disappointment. And they might grow up to the kind of adult who never exercises, thus falling into an unhealthy lifestyle.

So, it’s important to consider the child’s future and what kind of lifestyle you want to encourage them to have. When children develop certain habits, they are likely to stay. As a foster parent, you have an important influence to help them become rounded adults.

Learn More About Encouraging Your Foster Child to Grow into a Rounded Adult

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