When a foster child is resisting getting into bed

For a variety of reasons, a new child who comes into your foster home may resist getting into a bed. It could be their past experiences make it scary, maybe they aren’t used to sleeping in a bed, or they could be scared of you and don’t trust you yet.

Regardless of the reasons, here are some ways to work through those moments.

As always, feel free to add to the discussion with your considerations and experiences ⬇️💛

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[LumaLena]

Hi Laura! I’m a teenage childcare worker- I babysit, nanny, and work at a preschool and plan to teach preschool full time when I’m older. You inspire me in so many ways. I truly think about what you would do in situations with children; I ask myself “what would Laura do?” Your videos have given me so much to learn and use about empathy, foreshadowing, and meeting kids where they’re at. I hope I can be a foster mom too in the future and I’ll look to you for inspiration. Thank you for all you do ❤

[scout]

I love how you took the answer of “help her hide” in a positive direction like building a blanket fort! As a kid, I was wrongly led to believe that there were wrong answers to very open-ended questions, especially when my answers came from a place of anxiety.

[kellyriddell]

I think it makes a lot of sense to try to set up comfy areas to rest on the floor. Who knows what their bedtime routine was like before or what potential traumas or fears could be associated with that. So offering an alternative that feels very different than that makes sense. Setting up on the floor with some pretty light projectors and stuffed animals and books could easily have them drifting off feeling safe and getting a good night's rest, even if it's on a mat on the floor, and that's what's important. If it were me, I would be reluctant to use the TV at that time since that might keep them from falling asleep, but whether that's a problem or not depends on the kid, I think.

[blueturtle]

Using play to find new strategies is something that has saved the day for me as a childcare worker on multiple occasions. It can help uncover the reasons why a child reacts the way they do.

[Raddiebaddie]

Do you have a video on all the must have items you choose to provide? Does it get expensive always having to have multiple choices for everything?

[RebeccaLeeBaker-nnos]

I get asked why I don't want to sleep in my bed but sleep in my recliner in the living room. The living room has two exits and the bedroom only has one. There is no way to run away where my bed is. Do you have suggestions? Would it seem strange to move my bed out to my living room?