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Dadfor2,
I totally agree with you. I think it was great that whoownsthis was so open with us here, that she did so much of her own research to try to learn how to parent these children, that she really did a careful self-examination to honestly assess what type of children she could parent.
I think we ALL were shocked when we first were confronted with the reality of the behavior of traumatized children. Reading about it is one thing. Being a professional in the child welfare field is one thing. But living it is another. NOTHING is like parenting a foster child.
And I agree that the training you receive as a foster parent is entirely inadequate to the demands of therapeutic parenting. It is terrible that you have to be a ferocious advocate for your family to get truly competent trained professionals--ALL foster children should get these services, and they plainly do not.
I do think a lot of people would be appalled to see the behavior issues lived out, and many people would go running for the hills, screaming every step of the way. But others wouldn't, particularly if there were true professionals who were there to support you. So often social workers function as probation officers rather than as clinicians.
Anyway, you said it better than I did, Dadfor2, but I wanted to offer whoownsthis my support, too. God knows we foster parents need it!
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