Activities That Will Help You Bond with Your Foster Child

It is normal to struggle to create an emotional connection with a foster child and integrate them into a family. It may take some time for them to warm up to you, but there are a few things you can do to make things easier. One of these is spending time with them. The activities that you do while you spend this time together can give you enough time to talk and open you to each other, both of which are crucial for creating strong bonds. So, which activities can you do with your foster child?

Cooking

Cooking is an engaging and fun activity to share with your foster child. The best thing is, at the end of it, you will have a meal you can share. There is no right or wrong way to go about this because what you cook can range from simple single meals to quirky experimental meals that you enjoy preparing and eating together.

Cooking together also teaches kids responsibility, as they are responsible for the meal, and some structure, because they have to follow the recipe. Additionally, kids typically feel more comfortable talking to you while on your side instead of face-to-face, so cooking together can open up additional bonding opportunities.

Sharing a Hobby

Most kids have activities and interests that they can turn into hobbies. Hobbies can give you the time required to communicate and bond with your foster kids, especially if you do it regularly. It is important that you try to understand what they would like to do and go with the flow. This could be anything from painting and drawing to something more involved like learning to play an instrument.

The hobbies they choose will depend on their age, and they might become more involved as they get older. Fortunately, you will get the support you need to help your foster kids with their hobbies. Foster parents receive a regular payment, typically weekly, to support them and the children in their care.

The amount a foster parent receives depends on several factors, but it is important to remember that the first part of the fostering allowance should go towards supporting your foster kids’ activities and hobbies.

Reading

Reading is an age-dependent activity. Depending on their age, your foster kids can read to you and you to them. Doing so has the added benefit of helping them improve their reading, listening, and comprehension skills as well as their vocabulary. To make things easier, you can plan to read a series of age-appropriate books, such as the Harry Potter series, together. Reading a series means you get even more time to spend together.

Exercise

Exercising for kids is very different from exercising for adults, but there are some things you will enjoy as a parent. For example, a walk in the park or a game of football are all activities you could enjoy together. Others include swimming and athletics, which get them active and provide additional opportunities for social connections.

Bonding with your foster child is an important part of helping them get integrated into the home and family. Spending time doing some activities can help with this while also providing different additional benefits depending on the activity.