Fostering and Adoption can be a confusing process for both the parent and the child. Foster Parents often need support and help in understanding how to care for a child that has gone through trauma. On the other hand, children often need extra support in understanding the new situation they’re in, as displacement can be scary for them. We’ve outlined resources for some helpful books and media for you and your child about fostering, adoption, and embracing race!
Resources for Parents
There are some great books, podcasts, and shows that give potential and current foster/adoptive parents more insight on how to parent children in the system.
Tapestry Books is a great resource for books pertaining to anything adoption! It has recommendations for books about adoption, open adoption, fostering, parenting, and more.
A podcast we really like is Mama’s Well! Our own CEO, DeJuana Jernigan, was actually featured recently, and she had an incredible conversation with Host Tara Hutton about The Gifts and Gaps of Foster and Adoptive Systems. DeJuana talks from the other side of the system and gives insight about children in Texas’s system.
This list of 7 Books for Parents Considering Foster & Adoption is amazing for potential parents. It contains literature from the perspectives of adoptees and parents to help better understand the process.
An amazing documentary series, The Day I Picked My Parents, follows 10 different children in foster care as they find their forever family. It is very insightful in showing the hopes and struggles many children in the system experience throughout their journey.
These 7 Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency lay out 7 points that children in crisis, such as those in foster care may experience. Understanding these issues can help parents better understand the child and how to support them.
Another great podcast is Honestly Adoption. Hosts Mike and Kristin Berry explore many different topics and challenges most foster and adoptive parents face, and how to best overcome them!
These Book Recommendations include both fiction and non-fiction pieces, based on your preference. They all share staggering and beautiful stories from multiple perspectives of people involved in the process of fostering or adopting and are great reads!
For Children
Just like Parents, children need support in the Foster and Adoption process. Being a child in the system and being placed in different houses with unknown people can be a traumatic and confusing experience. These resources can help them better understand their own situation, as well as the different types of families that exist. Moreover, these can help build healthy relationships with their foster or adoptive parents, siblings, and peers as well.
These Children’s Books About Adoption are great for young children who are learning about adoption and foster care, as well as the complex emotions involved.
These Fun Games and Physical Activities to Help Heal Children Who Hurt is another amazing activity book for children that has plenty of games and educational activities that also address foster and adoptive situations. Most importantly, it has activities that introduce trauma sensitive topics, and help children work to find solutions to their own problems.
The Hyype Books by Michael Ngang are extremely well written and created interactive books for children. Ngang explores themes of individuality, uniqueness, confidence, and happiness in a way that is absorbable for children.
The Help and Hope Activity Book is printable and amazing for children. Not only is it educational, but it promotes creativity from the child as well!
Embracing Race
Racial and Cultural diversity are important, but sometimes puzzling themes for children to understand. This is mainly because prejudice and racism are difficult topics to explain as well as understand. We have found some great resources that hopefully makes explaining these heavy topics easier from the parent’s end, as well as comprehending them from the child’s end!
This first resource, Talking to Kids About Race & Racism, is great for parents! It explains how to approach and explain the topic, and also gives great sources of books, podcasts, and videos for children of all ages!
This New York Times Article lists some great books to explain race to children. These are mainly children’s books, but the appropriate ages and reviews are left for each book!
Did you know that in Texas, Harris County has one of the highest rates of overrepresentation of Black children in foster care? Systemic issues like this continue to affect Black children, and it is really important for them to see themselves in a positive light in the books they read. PBS’s reading list of Books with Strong Black Characters helps Black children gain confidence and stay secure in their personal identity. (<- I am not sure I worded this right)
These Historical Movies are also a great resource for children to embrace and understand race. The movies are all child-friendly and are educational and entertaining! Learning history helps with understanding the issue of race, as it gives context to the issues children see and experience today.
Lastly, NBC’s Books to Celebrate Diversity is an incredible resource for children’s books about diversity. These books explore other cultures, as well as being confident in your own skin and embracing yourself, while uplifting others!
Knowledge truly is power. These children endure a lot of hardships, which can often mean they are more resistant and lash out. However, by reading and listening, we can better understand the perspectives of these children, heal them, and build good relationships with them. Most importantly, we can help these children understand themselves and their peers, and build healthy and long-lasting bonds.
Our Resources page has plenty of other helpful articles and links for understanding how to overcome other challenges, build a strong family, and support for both parents and children.