The Heartbreaking Story of a Child Who Thought of An Ingenious Way To Get Adopted

TrendingNovember 7, 2021

The Truth About Adoption for The Kids

However, foster care is also complex for the kids. Because the little ones’ needs and behaviors differ, taking care of them requires time, effort, and extreme patience. According to Raising Children, they may exhibit signs of clinginess, withdrawal, anger, or separation anxiety.

Imagine how difficult it is to be taken out of your home only to be placed in another with people you know nothing about. As such, it’s expected that foster kids tend to show undesirable behaviors, and it’s up to the household members to cope and reach out.

Fostering Kids Is Never Easy

For the couple Tony and Elsie, they know that fostering was not a walk in the park. When they first met George, they had an idea of how things went logistically. After all, they previously fostered a baby, and although the boy is older than the first one, they expected a few differences and adjustments to be made.

According to Child Welfare, not everyone can foster, and rules will vary per state. However, interested individuals must possess the basic skills, including maintaining open communication with the social workers and managing different behaviors with patience.

The Truth About Adoption for The Kids

The Welcoming Committee Is Very Accommodating

When George arrived at the Atkinson residence, the couple Tony and Elsie talked with the social worker. Their kids, Nancy and Stanley, welcomed the new child as if he were their actual sibling. They took him to the living room to watch TV and made him feel comfortable within a few minutes.

Interestingly, Nancy and Stanley didn’t display signs of insecurity and loss that are normal for children in the house to feel upon the arrival of a foster kid, Very Well Family noted. Perhaps, the parents were able to instill values of sharing and service with their offspring.

A Difficult Past Manifests

However, his complicated past had started to show as early as his arrival. George had no idea about the programs the siblings were showing him. Come snack time; the boy stared at the floor when Tony and Elsie offered him spaghetti bolognese.

They also pointed at the cupboard filled with canned goods, asking if he wanted something from the pile, but he didn’t appear to know them. The couple was left baffled as to why they couldn’t engage their foster child. All they knew was that George had been through a lot that hindered his development.

Everything Was New to George

Indeed, George didn’t recognize a lot of things from the house. So what joy Tony and Elsie had felt when the boy left the spot he had been standing from for an hour to go to the fridge to get milk. He bit the foil off and chugged the beverage straight from the container.

Parents would typically tell the child a suitable way to drink milk, but for the couple, this was a way for them to know that George was at least provided milk in his former house. The liquid poured over the boy’s clothes, signifying he didn’t know how to use a cup.

Adjusting to the Atkinson Household

Tony and Elsie noticed how George didn’t know many things: from sitting on a chair to laying on a bed to using a spoon. Everything was new to him, which was a sad realization for the couple. Another heartbreaking moment was when the pair brought the kid to the park, and he stood in front of a tree for a long time.

This was when Tony realized that the child clearly had not seen nor touched a tree, and to support the child, they patted the trunk for 20 minutes. As per Kids Health, three-year-olds should be safely exploring places where they are able to run and walk.

A Force Field As A Security Blanket

George seemed to have adjusted nicely in the Atkinson house as he started expressing his interests and love for tinned beans. However, this changed one day when the then four-year-old drew a circle with a dot in the middle in every room, and instead of getting mad about it, Tony tried to inquire what the illustrations were all about.

The child said it was a force field that would keep the family safe. Tommy tried to explain that the doors do this job, which George believed isn’t always the case. Although they usually don’t make sense, kids’ drawings are meaningful and may reflect their experiences, Scholastic noted.