Stop to Smell the Roses: The Importance of Self Care in Successful Fostering
There are several things that we tend to forget about when it comes to fostering and how it impacts our families and those around us but first and foremost how it affects US as the foster parents. Many foster families have biological children they are already caring for and then add a foster child/children to their family, and this adds to their day-to-day stress. While being a foster parent is rewarding it can cause self-doubt, burn-out and compassion fatigue. Sometimes we get on autopilot and miss out on some of the important things in life. Here are some tips and tricks so you won’t miss out on the little things.
Practice self-care. Self-care provides balance. Implementing self-care activities provides the time and space to feel positive emotions that improve your day. Some beneficial self-care activities include going for a walk, taking a bath, baking, drawing, reading, and listening to music. You can find more ideas for self-care at https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/mental-health/self-care-ideas-activities?srsltid=AfmBOoojUa3x0UOXQI96aL6PMGxa16wXKc3uOZpXeUSlJrnROmE0JdZg
Ways to prevent burn-out. The #1 way to prevent burn-out is setting firm boundaries between home and work life. Burn-out doesn’t happen overnight and is a gradual process but with the right strategies, you can catch it early before it’s too late. You can find more information about burn-out at https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/preventing-burnout-protecting-your-well-being
Utilize Respite. We sometimes forget that support is out there and we just need to ask. By utilizing respite, it gives foster families a planned break to recharge. This will help with preventing burn-out. Ways to utilize respite is easy and quick for the families. Some ways to utilize respite can be found at https://fgi4kids.org/what-is-respite-the-easiest-way-to-ease-into-foster-parenting/
There will always be unknowns as a foster parent but starting with practicing self-care, preventing burn-out and utilization of respire, it will hopefully make life a little easier and give you time to stop and smell the roses.