Year on year, more and more children are identifying as transgender and whilst there are a number of support systems and resources available, mixing this in with fostering can be a challenge. Fostering in the midlands and working with fostering agencies like Fostering Dimensions can help you find the right balance with support and care for your transgender foster children.
Sometimes, it can be hard to approach, but with an open mind and the right support, training and development, you can learn more about gender identities and give positive guidance.
Fostering in the midlands can help you to understand
When you decide fostering in the midlands is for you, Fostering Dimensions work alongside you to see foster care is more than just placing a child in your care. We look at all of the challenges you may face and how to overcome them.
Understand gender dysphoria is a good place to start as it may help you to understand, as a foster carer what your children may be experiencing. Gender dysphoria in simple terms is when a person identifies with a gender that is different to the one they were assigned at birth; this can be male, female or non-binary which means they don’t feel like they are male or female. Naturally, this is very confusing and even more so as a society still enforces the traditional male/female expectations.
With the right fostering agency, fostering in the midlands can help you to understand the stress, worries and feelings of isolation that children may be feeling. It’s a very raw and delicate circumstance and very misunderstood which can leave you and your foster children upset when dealing with it.
In most instances, children and young adults start to have these feelings towards their teens years, especially when they enter puberty. Entering puberty can be confusing enough as it is so gender dysphoria can make the situation very critical if left unattended.
Signs your child might be transgender
With most things, there are never set signs of your foster children being transgender. As with everything when it comes to fostering in the midlands, everything is a learning curve and what may occur for one child may not for another. However, there are common signs to look out for in changes of behaviour that may give you an indication. It’s important to be aware that there may not be a common theme in these behaviours and they can pretty much spring up out of nowhere. Below, we’ve made a list of some of the traits that your children may be experiencing.
When you’re fostering in the midlands and think your child may be transgender, look out for the below:
- Continuous preference for wearing clothes of the opposite gender. Don’t mistake this with children enjoying dress up or playing with toys. This is more whereby if a child doesn’t feel comfortable in wearing clothes made for their associated gender and are constantly asking for other options.
- Preferring the company of genders that are opposite to theirs
- Mentioning how they don’t like the body their in and even commenting on their own genitals in a negative way
- Being a lot happier when they’re doing something related to the gender they want to be
- If they become depressed and isolate themselves when they’re not interacting with something that isn’t associated to the gender they aspire
- Not wanting to conform to anything that is related to the gender they are ‘known for’.
- Hiding their body with baggy or loose-fitting clothing
How fostering in the Midlands with Fostering Dimensions can help
Your foster children may feel the constant need to hide away from their true selves and with this can come to a lot of unwanted anxiety, depression or stress. Unfortunately, if this isn’t dealt with, the reality is that some of these feelings can lead to self-harming or suicide. Fostering in the Midlands with Fostering Dimensions can help guide you so we can inhibit that from happening.
If you notice unusual behaviour from your children, this could indicate something is wrong. Learn to listen to your children and how they identify themselves. If your children feel strong enough how it to keep mentioning it or referring to themselves as a different gender, this is important to them and it should be known to them that it’s important to you too. As a foster carer, it is important that you create an environment that is safe and whereby your children feel comfortable talking to you.
Start off by talking to their social worker, to us, and to them. If you prefer to do a bit of research on your own, the internet can be a great place for this, especially if you want to find people going through the same.
Remember, you are not alone. Should you wish to have an open and honest chat about fostering in the Midlands with Fostering Dimensions, call us today.