stories- foster adopting school aged siblings

You might want to put this on the foster parent support group. I am of no help as I am fostering a baby and a 4 yr old.

I adopted a sib group of boys when they were 6 and 8. Feel free to pm me with any questions you might have.

We are fostering to adopt school age siblings. It's hard hard work and completely worth it. It's very hard to keep up with their schedule while also bonding with them and keeping your sanity, so here are some things I wish I had known to do before they moved in: 1. Start becoming an expert on special education law. These kiddos have been through a lot and will very likely need various educational, behavioral, occupational, etc. interventions that they will not get unless you are an advocate. 2. Watch the Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) videos. It's hugely helpful to get that level of understanding of why they will have many of the behaviors they have, and exactly what you can do to help them heal. 3. Figure out what kind of insurance coverage they will have (in Texas, it's a crappy subset of Medicaid that is not taken by all doctors, therapists, etc), and start figuring out where you will be able to take them for therapy, speech therapy, pediatrician, dentist, etc. I can't stress this enough, because they will very likely be behind on everything. 4. Figure out your after-school options, summer camp plans, etc. 5. Uniforms - figure out where you can buy them when it's not the first day of school. Lots of places run out long before March, which is when our kids moved in. 6. Go ahead and get lots of at-home school supplies including plenty of erasers and a pencil sharpener. We have blown through these. In fact, if anyone says they want to throw you a shower -- just ask them to get school supplies for you. 7. Finish up any projects you're in the middle of. You will have to devote your whole being to the kids for a good long time to bond with them, so you won't be able to spend time on that home improvement project. :) 8. Line up people now to provide respite for you. Don't rely on your agency. Look for licensed 24-hour daycares. Check into local churches with good kids' programs -- they will like belonging somewhere. Get your friends and relatives approved to babysit ahead of time. Trust me that you do not want to go six months without a night off like we did. That's all I can think of right now. Good luck!

Thanks for sharing some great advice pecanparents! =)

Hello,I am in the process of adopting ages 3 to 8 sibling group. I have had the sibling group for 2 years. I have raised 4 biological children. What I have found is I thought I would bond immediately to the children. This is not the case it is a process that takes time. After 2 years I have bonded and we are a family. They are no different from raising my biological children. The most important thing to remember is you will not bond right away this is normal. Set up your family traditions, get into a daily routine and do the things family do.

Hello, I am in the process of adopting ages 3 to 8 sibling group. I have had the sibling group for 2 years. I have raised 4 biological children. What I have found is I thought I would bond immediately to the children. This is not the case it is a process that takes time. After 2 years I have bonded and we are a family. They are no different from raising my biological children. The most important thing to remember is you will not bond right away this is normal. Set up your family traditions, get into a daily routine and do the things family do.