After that she lost her mind.
She started to go down hill and it was not pretty. She wanted candy, I said no, so she started whining and reaching for the candy bowl that was on top of the fridge. She started pulling at my arms for no reason other than to be ridiculous. She wanted to go outside so she whined and hung on the sliding glass door handle. Eventually I told her to go to her room and she ran off screaming.
That was nice.
The social worker said she was glad to see I was stern with her and that she knew I meant business. She said she thinks a lot of foster parents pretend to be way too nice in front of her instead of acting like real parents. Thank goodness for good social workers.
I mentioned to her that I found a day camp I was thinking of putting Lizzy in, but I was worried about how she will behave and I would warn the workers about her.
The worker said 'just throw her in there and don't tell them anything, that way they don't expect the worst.'. I like this idea and I know there is a chance she would behave...and then the other part of me is cracking up, as if I would be pulling a huge trick on these poor workers. Lol
5 comments:
For a second I thought you meant the worker was good for 2/3 of the visit and then she lost it. I was thinking, "what the heck kind of worker does she have?!"
Kim, I thought the same thing and was so relieved it was Lizzy, not the worker!
Our county is trying to arrange daycare for our foster daughter's brother (who lives with their grandma) and they have the same conundrum - should they warn the daycare, and set the kid up for super-strict eagle-eyed watching, or should they just throw him in and hope he pulls through? Not an easy decision!
if you aren't firm with her, you aren't helping her at all, just creating a bigger monster! put her in camp and don't say a word, if she gets that label attached she will be treated different and have different expectations. :)
From a former camp worker/teacher....it is a very fine line to walk, but if there are extreme circumstances or a particular way that works best to communicate with Lizzy, then the adults in charge of her really need to know. The adults don't need to know everything about her, her story, her circumstances etc....but I have been on the other side of this as the one in charge, and there were circumstances that I could have helped the child avoid, or handled differently if I knew some details before the week started. Most camps/schools have a place on their enrollment forms for guardians to list any particular concerns/issues with the child. You don't have to go into the whoel bio, but maybe just some behaviour triggers or effective methods of discipline, or even the fact that you will not be upset with the camp and blame THEM if they have to call you for some reason.
Just an observation. She may be perfectly fine in a new environment.
I started reading through your blog today. Crying like a pregnant lady (which i am) ha ha. It makes me happy, angry, and excited all at once to be able to read your journey from "the other side". I cant wait to get to know you a little more. Please drop me an email if you have time jennygirlmarie@yahoo.com
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