WHAT WE WISH WE HAD KNOWN ABOUT FOSTER CARE | 7 Things We Learned While Foster Parents

We want to share with you 7 things we learned while fostering that we wish we had known before beginning our Foster Care journey.

We were incredibly unprepared when we received our first foster care placement. And even later during our foster care journey we were always learning new tips and tricks. We want to share these with you as well as a few foster care stories that we hope will be helpful to you during your time as a foster parent.

Here are the 7 things we learned:
1. Keep a stash of clothes, etc. 00:38
2. Little to no information will be available 02:19
3. Family visits can be traumatic 03:03
4. Casemanagers really do care 04:30
5. Steep time committment 05:36
6. Medicaid pays for (nearly) everything 07:25
7. Visitors and anxiety 08:44

*These have 2 levels, the loud is really loud. :)

Let's keep the momentum caused by National Foster Care Awareness Month going! If you are a foster parent or former foster parent, COMMENT BELOW what you wish you had known before fostering!
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We want to answer your questions about foster care and adoption! Contact us through our website and find resources like parenting and adoption resources in addition to website and vlogging resources.

We would love to hear from you!
Zero2Five Family
P.O. Box 625
Reeds Spring, MO 65737

#vloggingfamily #youtubefamily #christianfamilyvloggers #nationalfostercareawarenessmonth #fostercareawareness

Song creds:
"Safe and Sound - Instrumental" by Graham Colton
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We are the Black Family! We went from zero to five kids overnight through the miracle of adoption and foster care. We are learning to be a family together and want to inspire and encourage others to get involved in their state's foster program. We take lots of adventures together but...let's face it...parenting 5 kids is an adventure all on it's own!!

[ZeroFiveFamily]

We hope this video is helpful to someone looking at fostering. Feel free to ask any questions below or reach out to us through our website if you have questions. We love hearing from you! Thanks for watching!!!❤️

[juliuslol]

I’m a foster parent who also adopted. One of the saddest days was on a Christmas Eve biological family visit day. My little girl was all dressed up and ready to see her bio mom and she never showed. She came back from that visit devastated. We cried together. I’m so glad she’s now a permanent part of our family . The journey can be difficult but it is worth it.

[JenessaAndKingston]

I grew up in foster care & group homes, over 50 placements all together. The best was when you got a foster family who took you out to pick out your own comforter set & sheets and maybe curtains. Just to make it your room. A lot of times you can get purchase orders from dhs for things like that. As well as clothes, shoes, carseats. Don’t be afraid to ask! They are legally our guardian and i used to call mine all the time when i needed things lol. Its sad my dhs case worker was the only person i steadily had in my life. She was really good to me and i was one of her first cases so she loved me! I was more attatched to her as a kid than she would ever know.❤️

[henkkahenrik]

I myself used to be a foster kid, and want to one day become a foster parent, because my days in foster care were some of the most stable and safe i ever had in my life, and i want to give that feeling of safety to other kids in situation like mine. Foster families play such a huge role in a child's life it's hard to imagine unless you've experienced it. It can completely change a persons future. A good foster family can save a child, and even if it's for a short while, it goes a really long way, and a child will never forget a truly great foster family.

That being said, becoming a foster parent is still far off for me, since i don't plan on getting kids before I'm financially able to and have created a stable environment for a family. The most important part of raising kids is to know when you're truly able to do so properly.

[zelousfoxtrot]

The WORST PART: when they send them back to that situation, and you KNOW that bio family does not have it together, and the neglect and abuse will continue.

[lizzietizzy]

I appreciate you bringing up - "having them leave, with more than they came with" - I love this philosophy behind foster care! Taking whatever the child is bringing in - a dirty backpack(or backpack full of emotions!) and loving & caring for the child, where when the child leaves & leaves with more than they arrived with. What a great attitude - thank you for sharing!

[brookemullen]

i am 18 years old and i have always been very passionate about being a foster parent in the future...it’s something i have thought long and hard about and something i feel so very strongly passionate towards. i know i’m young but i feel that it is very important for me to educate myself as much as possible and i thank you very much for this video it gives me a better understanding of what i am so passionate about thank you guys for your amazing work❤️

[milliemay]

Ever since I was 14 I wanted to be a foster parent, I had no true idea what it was gonna be like though, then I got put in foster care at 16, and I’ll tell you, there’s a huge weight that most foster care children carry with them, I’m 18 and still struggling. But I know I can use my experience to help other foster kids and connect to them more. I’m kind of thankful and now know what can come with a child with trauma: Past drug use, tantrums, isolation, paranoia, outburst, ect. I even came into foster care with some of these problems, there was times I felt the whole world was against me and I said some things to my 2nd foster mother I regret. The main problem a lot of foster children face is usually from their own mind, we never know when or if we have to move again, we don’t know if these families even want us and we don’t know what can make them hate us, one second we can be very close and the next we did something wrong and they don’t want us, sometimes it comes straight out of the blue, a phone call from a caseworker telling us to pack up because we have to move the next morning. My first home had me removed since I refused to clean up a strangers puke and I yelled at the daughter for cursing at me when I had to use the bathroom, my caseworker knew it wasn’t my fault since I put in multiple complaints with the family before in the first month but I still blamed myself thinking I shouldn’t have been too prideful, I was surprised when I heard I was getting removed, not from the complaints but from me yelling at someone for calling me names, after all the things they did, the racist things they said, the things they did to the other foster kids, I was the one who was punished and they are still parents, it made me not trust foster parents. It’s also hard to pick your whole life up and move into a place you don’t know with strangers you don’t know. I just want to let some possible foster parents know this too since I’ve talked to a couple of foster kids that do the same and you might not know: A lot of older foster children will try to be their very best in fear that they will have to move, it becomes a problem later on because it starts to get exhausting and our mental health continues to go down hill, then we start to isolate, self criticize, and self sabotage. Not all foster kids do it but a good amount do. I know it won’t be easy but I want to be a foster parent and help these children, and let them know they are safe, loved, and stable. Thank you for the video

[jasperjasper]

There is always a reason for anger... it's not for "no reason at all." It may be directed toward you... but they have a reason!

[jenniferh]

THANK YOU! When you say they come with nothing, this is absolutely a possibility. While our first placement came with a huge duffel bag of clothes and toys, we had no clue that our infant (who we picked up at the hospital) would not even have a onesie! Thank goodness the emergency social worker at the hospital had one in her bag. Please spread the word....bring an outfit to the hospital to pick up your sweet baby. We felt like such losers :-(

[karid.]

This is incredible! I choked up when you guys talked about the buzzer on the door and the safety and security that it offers them. That's SO important for them to see what a safe environment looks like - especially children who has been in an abusive home.

[JJ-ynbc]

I am a Japanese daddy, and thinking about to be a foster parent. Thank you very much for sharing this helpful video because in Japan no experience is shared by foster parents via Youtube.

[espieespino]

I just happened to watch a program on children being abandoned or given away and it broke my heart. I wish I had the stamina and room to foster children because they would get love and attention May you two be blessed for all you do for these children coming in and out of your homes. Big Kudos to you both.

[LifewithSamandTiff]

You guys are amazing for fostering. Can't imagine how traumatic family visits can get for these children and how it affects your relationship with them after the family members leave.

[Curly_tales]

Wow there are people like you guys in the world makes me love this life more

[custardcream]

I love the idea of the door buzzers to help them to feel safer. And I love the painting idea too. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[enfamilia]

My name is Eva. I’m 25 years old and I just closed on my first home. I am starting to get settled in and I would love to foster a child. I used to volunteer for an orphanage when I was younger and there was a little boy named jamie who wanted me to adopt him but I was only 15 years old then. It was heartbreaking having to explain to him why I couldn’t. Ever since I always knew I wanted to adopt. I don’t make a lot of money at the moment, but I make enough to sustain my home. Do you guys think I could be a potential foster parent?

[BirgettaJohnson_LetsTalkAJR]

Thank your for this information! When I get a house and get my career stabilized I want to look into fostering with my partner.

[doyoulikeduckmeat]

Thanks so much for your videos. My wife and I are in the middle of a 2 day crash course to be foster parents, and your videos have been a HUGE help.

[roro]

Thank you for being foster parents. I am a foster child and been with my family for 54 years never adopted.