Many people assume that lifebooks are only for adopted children; however, they are just as important for foster children. Imagine being moved from at least one home and everything changed because of a decision made by others. People, places and things are temporarily or permanently gone, leaving a child with only memories. A lifebook gives foster children a place to put those memories.
How Foster Kids Use Lifebooks
Lifebooks offer a safe place for foster kids to write down their thoughts, feelings, as well as information about their lives. It can be a scrapbook project, a notebook or a binder that can be easily added to.
More than a traditional photo album, lifebooks chronicle a foster child’s life in a way that includes both happy and sad memories, and encompasses all aspects of the child’s life. Even though photos may be included in a lifebook, the focus is on the writing as this can be a therapeutic process for foster kids. Ultimately, it will help the child understand the losses she is experiencing and feel a connection to her past despite the circumstances.
What Goes Into a Lifebook for Foster Kids
The most important thing about a lifebook is that it is created with the child in mind. She needs lots of input, and ideally, will suggest much of what should be included. If a lifebook project seems daunting, foster parents and therapists can purchase lifebooks such as My Foster Care Journey, which contains simple fill-in-the-blank pages that the child and others can fill out. Foster Club.com also offers free templates for foster kids to download for their own lifebooks.
As each lifebook is unique, anything of importance to the child should be included. Here are some ideas of what foster children might want recorded:
- child’s birth information in as much detail as possible, including a baby photo
- photos and stories about birth family
- photos and stories of life in the foster family
- records of academics, achievements and extra-curricular activities
- previous addresses of the child and history of where the child has been
- pictures drawn by the child
- stories and journal entries written by the child
- goals and dreams of the foster child
- friends and important people in the child’s life
- tracking of medical, therapeutic and other information pertaining to the child’s overall well-being
Candid photos can also enhance a lifebook by showing many aspects of the foster child’s moods, expressions, and personality. If photos of the child are not readily available, encourage her to look for images in magazines and online to represent important events in her life.
Updating and Preserving a Foster Child’s Lifebook
Often lifebooks are not a priority for very busy foster parents and child welfare professionals, but this extremely important project should not be overlooked. Many child welfare agencies have programs for kids where volunteers help them with lifebooks in a group setting.
Once a foster child’s lifebook has been started, it should be continued as an on-going project that the child and caregivers can add to as the child grows. It should always be readily available to a foster child and as a result, care needs to be taken to ensure certain parts are duplicated and stored elsewhere, so the child’s memories continue to be safe.
Lifebooks offer an opportunity for foster kids to process their losses, joys, and overall life changes in a safe and therapeutic way. In understanding how children use the books, what they contain and why it is important to add to them, foster parents, social workers and mentors can help foster kids create very meaningful records of their lives.
Source:
Littlefield, Jamie. Make a Lifebook for a Child in Foster Care, Charity Guide Website (accessed August 10, 2010).
Angela Krueger - As an adoptive parent and PRIDE adoption trainer, Angela uses her insights to help others on their adoption journey.
