Returning to school can be a stressful time for children. For children in foster care, these stressors are often exacerbated, as they not only enter new schools but also new living situations.

There are a variety of foster parenting tips that can be used to help children adjust to these new situations.

Proactively Connect with the School

Foster parents can contact the school to ensure they know your foster child's new living arrangements. Most schools will have already dealt with foster children and may have developed procedures to help these children adjust to their new school. Additionally, your child could go the school and meet with their teacher ahead of time. If they are in middle or high school and will be switching classes, you may want to offer to run through their schedule with them.

Your relationship with your foster child's school staff is critical to their academic success. Creating that relationship early, and being honest with the teacher about any of the struggles that they may have, may be a good way to ensure that you remain connected to your foster child's life.

Look at Broader Routines

Having your foster child run through their in-school schedule may be an excellent way of giving them the stability to help them succeed. However, that stability should extend beyond the classroom. If they are going to be walking to and from school, walk the route with them. If they are using the bus, make sure they understand when the bus will arrive, where they can pick it up, and where it will drop them off. Just like for teachers, if possible, find out if they can meet the driver. If they are going to be in any after-school care program, try to get your foster child there early so they can meet with their new teachers.

The point here is: stability matters. It matters for all children, but even more so for foster children.

Advanced Preparation

You need to consciously take the time to adjust a foster child to their new routines that will begin once school formally starts again. Consider the following:

●      Gently ease a child back into their bedtime routine. If you've had a foster child for the summer and haven't paid attention to when they go to bed and when they get up, start to slowly readjust them to their school night-time routine.

●      Buy their school supplies as early as possible in order to avoid a last-minute rush that may agitate a child.

●      Talk about every child’s least favorite part of school—homework. Develop the strategies that you will need to get the extra work completed. Remember, it's easier to agree to a plan to deal with homework before a child actually starts it, rather than after.

Prepare for After School Care

The vast majority of parents are working and will need some sort of before or after school care. This is difficult enough under normal circumstances, but for foster children who have experienced trauma, the challenges can be heightened.

While many childcare centers are able to watch children, not all are ideally equipped to provide the care that your children may need if they are foster children. Therefore, make sure you do your homework and proactively prepare for your child's after-school care. This means inquiring about training, past experiences, and the staff’s experience working with children in foster care.

Model Excitement and Joy

Children often follow the emotions of the adults around them. For your foster child to be excited about school, you need to be excited about school. Let your natural excitement and joy shine through.

●      Ask questions that will get your foster children in a positive state of mind. Ask them what they're looking forward to and what they want to do in school. Ask them what excites them. These questions should help your foster child think positively about the upcoming transition into school.

●      Find out more about their interests and develop ways to encourage them. If your foster child likes sports, find out which one, and see if there are leagues or tryouts that they can take advantage of. If they like music, enroll them in a band or chorus. Above all else, encourage their positive interests and get them excited about ways to express those interests.

Get Involved

If you are able to do so, you may want to consider ways to get involved in your foster child's school. This means different things for everyone, depending on the sort of time they have available in their own life.

Be sure to temper this involvement by what your foster child is interested in. Some foster children may crave that added supervision and connection with their foster home. Others—older kids, for example—might be embarrassed by it. Make sure to ask your foster child before executing any plans to watch them at school, and find out what their preferences are when it comes to your increased involvement.

Reach Out to Us at Camelot Care Center

If you need more help with your child as they return back to school, make sure to reach out to Camelot Care Center, one of Tennessee's best family counseling and foster care centers. With locations throughout the state, we offer a variety of services for your foster family, including intensive counseling, outpatient therapy, medication management, and family preservation.

Our goal is to help your family in whatever way we can, so your foster child has a great experience. If you are looking for more information about how to enroll a foster child in a school in Tennessee, make sure to contact us. We want your foster child to be excited and ready to go back to school, so reach out to us today to see how we can help.