A little more than five years ago, my wife and I decided to become PATH foster parents. About a year later, Rose decided to stay at home and provide childcare services so our grandchild would have a place to go, and “Kid Station Childcare” was born. Now several years later, both myself and Rose work at home providing childcare services as well as being PATH foster parents.
Daycare and foster care have been a great combination for us; we are able to use childcare training in foster care and vice versa. Each child has been special to us and all are unique. Whether they are a child in foster care or not, they each are in their own stage of development and need to be nurtured to grow. Foster parenting and the training we have received in PATH has given us a greater understanding of child behavior and development, and we apply many of the things we have learned on a daily basis for childcare.
While foster children need us to understand and work with their unique needs, children in daycare all have strengths and weaknesses we work with everyday. As foster parents and childcare providers, we teach, listen, care, play, understand, and we try to touch their lives for a little while and make a difference.
Both foster parenting and childcare can be challenging, and one can wonder why do it. The answer becomes clear when a foster child from years ago stops by and gives you a hug or one of the parents of the kids in daycare pulls you to the side and tells you their child was sick during the night and called out for you. We do it for the kids and we remember when you are doing the right things for the right reasons, one can meet any challenge and make good things happen for others.
No comments:
Post a Comment