A Foster Holiday


As you can imagine living in the foster care system can be a challenge, to say the least. Just an average day for a foster child or teen can cause anxiety or depression. (Not to mention that most kids in foster care already have both of those.)

But the holidays can be some of the worst times for foster kids.

Around this time of year depression skyrockets throughout the foster care systems.

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The system is a scary place for children, especially during the holidays. Even if your family is neglectful or abusive, being taken away from everything you've known is terrifying.

Imagine having to go live with strangers, often a series of strangers, and there's nothing you can do. Imagine not having a family to eat Thanksgiving dinner with. Foster children have no control over their lives, and that lack of control causes continual insecurity.

Not having a family around for Christmas or anyone to share the new year with causes depression that can last a lifetime. They don't know how long they'll be in a particular foster home or where they'll be going to school next month or next year.

Foster teens aren't allowed to do many things other teens do, like getting a drivers license or going to sleepovers. Just the act of entering foster care can cause serious emotional trauma. In fact, one study found that foster children are more likely to suffer PTSD than combat veterans.

HELP IMPACT SOMEONE'S LIFE WITH GIVING KIDS HOPE FOUNDATION. YOUR DONATION OR VOLUNTEER SERVICE WILL HELP MANY CHILDREN AND TEENS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON . Click Here to Learn More!

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For the majority of us when we think of our childhood around the holidays, we remember being surrounded by family, enjoying fancy meals, singing Christmas Carols, waiting impatiently for Santa, the excitement of the presents and the TV specials that always end in joy and cheer, however this isn't usually the experience felt by children living in foster care. Just imagine for a moment what it's like to be living in a strange house and with a strange family instead of your own home for the holidays. Many are expected to follow the Christmas traditions of the foster family and to ignore their own. As a foster kid, you're expected to fit in and be grateful. Some believe you should be grateful that you're not in a group home or shelter, but honestly you're just an kid that wants to go home and be with your own family. It can send your senses into overdrive, making you feel very anxious. You wonder what you did wrong to make you end up in foster care, more importantly, does anyone care that you're in foster care. You feel like you have no control over what happens to you and that you don't matter to anyone. These feeling can become triggers that can last a lifetime. These kids often report feeling vulnerable, lonely, sad, and depressed at a time where they are expected to feel exactly the opposite. So please, keep these kids in your thoughts and prayers as they struggle through this Christmas Season with not always pleasurable experiences.
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