Foster parents are expected to form a healthy co-parenting relationship with their foster child’s birth parents. Why?? What are the benefits of co-parenting in foster care? Why go to all the trouble?
Co-parenting is the shared care and nurturing of a child by the foster parents, the birth parents, and the child’s caseworker. When done well, it results in less stress and behavior problems with the child and a faster move to permanency.
A healthy functional relationship of respect and kindness between the foster parents and birth parents is good for the child and good for the parents—both sets of parents (birth and foster).
Benefits of Co-Parenting in Foster Care
- The child is less likely to feel divided loyalties between her foster parents and her biological parents.
- Less stress and drama during family visits and court hearings.
- Transitioning to permanency, regardless whether it is reunification or adoption, is smoother and less stressful for the child.
- When birth parents know that the foster parents are not “out to get their child” they are likely to be more willing to work with the foster parents to help their child accept the foster parent’s authority. Better behaved children make for easier foster parenting.
- Foster parents are modeling for the child and for the birth parents how to have a healthy adult relationship in difficult circumstances.
Do you have any additional benefits that you see to co-parenting?
[sws_green_box box_size=”515″]Other Creating a Family Resources You Will Enjoy
- I Could Never Be a Foster Parent…Can I Help the Foster Care Crisis?
- Becoming a Foster Parent: What You Really Need to Know
- 5 Tips for Helping Foster Kids [/sws_green_box]
That is nice that a child won’t feel divided loyalties between birth and foster parents. That is something I would want to do for someone. Maybe it would be good to become a co foster parent.
There are a lot of benefits for the child to build a healthy supportive relationship as a foster parent with his or her birth parents. Learn more about how to become a foster parent here: https://creatingafamily.org/becoming-a-foster-parent/
Thanks for reading!
That is really interesting – that if doing co-parenting in foster care a child is less likely to feel divided loyalties between parents. That would be great for someone who was in foster care. It would be fun to be a foster parent to help out the foster kids. (edited for clarity)