Every child that comes into a foster home is different. There will be a variety of reasons as to why they were placed into a care environment, and this will be shared with you as a part of your journey. However, it is sometimes the case that foster children need additional support with mental health, and here’s what you need to watch out for.
Red Flags from Your Training
Every private fostering agency like fosteringpeople.co.uk supports their carer teams with extensive training and development opportunities. It is here that you will learn exactly what to look out for and how to handle any mental health emergencies that could emerge during your time as a foster carer. These are invaluable resources that can and should be drawn upon whenever the need arises.
General Withdrawal
If a foster child, regardless of their age or background, is suddenly withdrawing from either family time or social settings, then this is an indicator that something is not quite right. They may be locking themselves away in their bedroom if they are older, or reverting to non-verbal tendencies if they are younger. Whatever the case, withdrawal is a clear sign that you need to appropriately intervene.
Anger Outbursts
When a child is feeling out of control, they are experiencing a level of dysregulation. This leads to mood swings and creates a display of typical behaviours like anger outbursts. As a foster carer, you will be able to notice these shifts in mood and have the experience to recognise it as a cry for help. These are the times when a child needs better support and someone who is willing to show up, investigate, and provide ways forward. Anger outbursts, while frustrating to live and work around, are a natural response to processing big emotions.
Lack of Engagement at School
Another tell-tale sign that a child is struggling with their mental health is how they act and engage at school. Education can often be a barrier for children in the fostering network, but when things start to take a turn for the worse, your young person is trying to tell you something. They may be finding it too difficult to keep up with their peers or be suffering at the hands of a bully. Foster carers should always dive into any changes at school as soon as things come up so that the children they look after are not put at risk developmentally.
Lashing Out
Alongside all of the above, when mental health resilience is low, there will always be a range of behaviours that come with it. Anger outbursts have already been mentioned, but these are different from general lashing out. This happens when a young person is angry, confused, hurt, or lonely, and is just a thing that humans do to feel in control of their environment. It is normal to experience a degree of this type of behaviour and you will be given the tools to address it through training and general support networks.
Mental health is an extremely important topic for children and young people in the foster care network. A foster carer needs to understand the big warning signs so that they can put the right help in place.
