“We are caregivers, too”: Foster siblings' difficulties, strengths, and needs for support

Abstract

Children's foster care is practised and studied in many parts of the world, but little attention is paid to foster parents' birth children, despite their right to participate in a process that concerns their lives and despite the role they play in foster care. Drawing on qualitative data collected from 15 foster siblings and 14 foster parents, this paper presents birth children's experiences with the beginning of foster care, their perceptions of the positive and negative aspects of living with a foster child, and their suggestions for foster parents, foster children, and professionals. The data reveal that birth children feel engaged in a caregiver role; therefore, they need guidance with regard to this role. However, social workers and other professionals do not appear to fully recognize this role. Implications for practice are discussed.

‘The love is spread out’: how birth children talk about their experiences of living with foster children

“…Most of the children reported not being prepared and having unrealistic expectations of the fostering process. This finding is consistent with previous research whereby birth children have reported that they did not feel they were equipped with enough information about the realities of fostering (Martin, 1993; Nordenfors, 2016; Poland and Groze, 1993; Pugh, 1996; Raineri, Calcaterra and Folgheraiter, 2018; Targowska, Cavazzi and Lund, 2016; Younes and Harp, 2007). When it comes to the outcomes of preparation, the literature on transition to siblinghood has identified mixed results, with some studies reporting positive effects on sibling rivalry (Fortier, et al., 1991) and recent research finding no benefit to family functioning (Beyers-Carlson and Volling, 2017) and highlighting how supportive co-parenting is more likely than preparation to help children adjust.…”

“…Children also reported positive outcomes from their own caring role. This has been found in the literature on birth children’s experiences of fostering where the value of helping others was highlighted (Adams, Hassett and Lumsden, 2018; Pugh, 1996; Thompson and McPherson, 2011), yet research also has found that birth children can feel pressure from expectations to be responsible and caring (Nordenfors, 2016; Raineri, Calcaterra and Folgheraiter, 2018; Swan, 2002; Williams, 2017b; Younes and Harp, 2007). Although positive about their caring role, ambivalence was present in some children’s accounts, with idealisation of caregiving juxtaposed with not wanting to take it up when older.…”

“…Research into birth children’s experiences of foster siblings has reported both positive and negative experiences (e.g. Adams, Hassett and Lumsden, 2018; Mainpin, Minary and Boutanquoi, 2016; Raineri, Calcaterra and Folgheraiter, 2018; Serbinski, 2017; Sutton and Stack, 2013; Targowska, Cavazzi and Lund, 2016; Thompson, McPherson and Marsland, 2016; Twigg and Swan, 2007; Watson and Jones, 2002; Williams, 2017a). Thompson and McPherson (2011) undertook a thematic analysis of 12 studies into the experience of living with a foster sibling and identified five key themes: positive experiences; loss; conflict; transitions; and coping.…”