Hi, I’m Alex Craig, a seasoned foster parent and founder of For The Love of Foster. After 13 kids (and counting), I have seen my fair share of foster care. I have had my ups and I have had many, many downs full of parental guilt, shame, and feelings of inadequacy as I drown out my feelings in a pint of vanilla ice cream.
Have you ever:
- Felt so confused and beyond your comprehension when it came to your child’s behavior? Why doesn’t loving them just seem to be enough?
- Found yourself believing in your child more than “the system” does? A belief that your child, or any child for that matter, is capable of growth and a great capacity to overcome adversity?
- Been so lost about all of the parenting advice out there and theory-based content when it comes to parenting kids with adverse backgrounds.
Yeah, me too. Heck, I still feel like that sometimes. I wish five years ago, when I started my foster care and adoptive journey that I knew what I know now.
I would have saved myself years of pain and heartbreak. I would have saved some of the kiddos we fostered from the pain.
It was said to me once, “Kids who come to you bleeding shouldn’t bleed in your care”.
Ouch, pretty sure I was guilty of that. Throw on the shame. The guilt. The SELF-LOATHING.
After gaining a few pounds from the constant eating due to my self-loathing, I devoted myself to becoming a better foster parent. I was set on equipping myself to be a better parent.
For The Love of Foster was created with a mission to help inspire and educate current foster parents, soon-to-be foster parents, and adoptive parents. Much of the information you will find on this site is actually down-right good parenting, regardless of a kid’s background.
It’s my hope I can spare you from some of the pain and mistakes that I made.
At times, it feels weird writing about being a foster parenting and parenting foster care kids. I have had my fair share of misgivings. I don’t have any sort of degree in child development. I haven’t personally conducted deep research on children.
Most of the information on this website is based on other people’s research or my own experience as a parent and foster parent.
On this site, you will find:
- Personal stories of joy and pain about my realizations and shortcomings of being a foster parent and adoptive parent.
- Anecdotal evidence and my results after applying certain parenting principles I have researched and learned.
- And hopefully from time to time you will hear from guest experts about parenting, child brain development, and more.
Join me on this journey and make a difference in the world!