I am in the midst of adopting a 9 year old girl from foster care.
Whenever she visits with me, she calls me Mama, and when she is with a foster mom, she calls them Mama. Whenever she moves from a placement, she very quickly calls them by their other names...like Aunt L___, or Ms. T____.
Now she is in a placement very close to me, and i see her every week, and often run into her and her foster mom in the area. So now, with me, she will refer to her current foster mom as Miss. B___, or Mama, but at the same time will call me Mama, or Miss Kim. I've talked to her to find ot if she understands the difference between us, and she said, yes, she will be living with Miss B____ for a little while, and then when she moves with me, she will live with me forever, but she will still get to see or visit Miss B_____.
I'm wondering if the fact that everyone is Mama, is a convenience, or does it speak of attachement issues? When she is living with me, and i get a babysitter, will she call her Mama? If she visits with Miss B____ later, will she call her Mama?
I dropped her off at her house one day, and there were children outside, and she knew these children, and i knew that she had probably referred to Miss B_____ as Mama, yet when a little boy asked who i was, she replied, that's my Mama. To which the little boy questioned "That's your Mama???" and left it alone, although looking confused.
Is she confused?
