Introducing your foster child to your extended family

Most of us have some extended family, and if you are fostering or considering becoming a foster carer, you might be wondering if, and when, you should introduce them to your foster child.

While at Beacon Fostering, we encourage foster carers to integrate their foster children into everyday family life, you should also consider the child’s needs and what they are – and aren’t – comfortable doing. Below are some of our top tips.

Preparation

It’s important that you give your foster child time to prepare for events and days where they will meet new people – particularly if there will be a lot of them at one time.

After meeting immediate family, you can introduce your child to other relatives according to the comfortability of the child, one by one. This will help them to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Also encourage the child and their foster relatives to develop relationships between one another, through conversations and day trips, and make sure that if they are inviting you (and your existing immediate family) to any parties, that your foster child is included in the invitations.

The benefits for wider family

Introducing your foster child or children to their foster grandparents can do wonders for their health, as it improves their quality of life and keeps them young at heart. On the other side, the children who are in foster care also gain a sense of belonging and normalcy when they meet and develop relationships with people who fill the roles and relationships they may otherwise not have.