Fostering Friday: What Does He Call You?

Welcome to Fostering Fridays! 

Our hope is that you will be able to get a taste of what it's like to foster by reading our experiences and thoughts!

Ever wonder what foster kiddos call their foster parents? Or perhaps why they call their foster parents a certain name.

There can be many different reasons, in all honesty. 

We had a little boy for two years in our home. We had known him since he was tiny as he was in our daycare from the time he was a baby. His mama always referred to us as Aunt and Uncle. After several months in our home, I was driving him to school when he said, "Aunt Heidi? Can I call you 'Mom'? Cause 'Aunt Heidi' is a lot to say...?" He had been calling my hubby "dad" for months at that point, but he had never had a dad in his life and he latched onto Peter like a lifeline. 

Our little boy we have currently started out calling me "Mom", "Mommy", "Heidi" and "Mama". He heard people call me by all of these names and he knew he would get my attention if he called me by one of them. So I answered to whichever one he chose to use at the moment. He has now settled on "Mama Heidi" which I find absolutely adorable and his bio mom thinks is cute as well!

I know of teenagers who call their foster parents by their first name. Some who ask to call them mom and dad.

Sometimes it is the caregiver that asks the child to call them a certain name like "Mr and Mrs Jones", (sounds awkward and not at all like a family to me but it happens), or they tell the child that they can call them by their first name or "mom and dad" like the rest of the kiddos in the home.

So there are many different reasons why kiddos latch onto calling their caregivers certain names. The main one being that they follow the lead of the other children in the home.

Till next time...

Have a blessed day and embrace the craziness in your life!

Heidi