Staying in foster care, many children outgrow their childish nature. They become more mature and adult-like. It is absolutely not good for them that they lose out on one of the most important aspects of childhood; the element of having fun.
A foster carer not only has the responsibility of providing children with a safe and happy environment but also letting them have fun is important. Bringing in a routine back into a foster child’s life is as important as letting them explore and break the routine from time to time.
What Does The Expert Say?
Tahir Khan, with Perpetual Fostering, demonstrates that hobbies help foster children develop in their cognitive skills and critical thinking. The same is true for children that play physical activities, learn a musical instrument, or participate in any other hobby that requires regular training or practice.
Child psychologist believes that hobbies help children learn faster and being successful helps them develop self-confidence. Even if they are met with failure then with the help of the carer, they can learn to overcome difficult situations in life.
How To Find A Hobby For Your Foster Child?
If the child already does not have any hobby, it is always in the best interest to explore fun activities to find a suitable hobby for the child. If you have a hobby like photography or painting. You can try a related activity together with your foster child. In case you notice, that something interests the child, you can try to do it together as a family.
Dos And Don’ts
Even if the child shows interest, do remember he or she might not be able to do it perfectly. Failing at something should not mean to them the end of it. Keep them motivated, encourage them. Let them know how proud you are that they are trying.
A child at times may think he or she likes something like riding a horse which might be a difficult task. If the child is not comfortable while doing the actual activity, is something that you need to understand as a foster carer. Never push children into doing something that makes them nervous, they have already had enough trauma. Be gentle and patient, even sometimes you will have to be persuasive.
Creativity
No specific hobby is required, any activity together will help the child normalize. It will also help create a bond between you two. This relationship that you are building will be most cherished for these fun moments that you as a family will be enjoying. Get creative come up with your own ideas for fun activity or hobbies.
A Future Profession
Do not ignore the potentiality of a seemingly trivial thing like a hobby. Your encouragement of your foster child with a hobby can turn in to a fruitful career choice for the child in the long run. If your foster takes up dancing as a hobby today, he or she might just excel at it and become a professional dancer in your future. So you can provide them with a future career choice.
To help the child most, try to keep the laughter alive. Humor is the best medicine. Along with encouragement, try to maintain an environment where there is happiness.
