When a foster child has settled into your home, and you are feeling more confident in the dynamic, you will definitely be ready to take a day trip together. This can be both nerve-racking and exciting, and these are all valid emotions. The good news is that, with some strategic planning and a clear head, you can all have a great time out and about. Here’s how to do it.
Plan The Budget
Every adventure will cost a certain amount of money. You may have to pay for petrol expenses, food and drinks, or even attraction tickets, and it is important to factor this into the overall planning. You can use the helpful foster carers allowance to cover the costs of whatever you need, and this is exactly what it should be used for! Enrichment activities are an essential part of the foster care experience, after all, and this allowance definitely helps. Don’t forget to use your foster carer discount too.
Make A Day Trip Schedule
While it is impossible to plan for every little detail, you can try really hard to map out how the day should look. This means sitting down and thinking about timings from the start of the day until the end of the experience.
Make space for their usual routine, for example, sitting down and eating breakfast, and then work out how long the journey will take.
Create an agenda for when you arrive at the destination, and think about lunch timings, toilet breaks, and everything else that might come up. Just remember, if things don’t quite align, then it’s not the end of the world.
Travel Entertainment
Regardless of the age of the child you are looking after, entertainment for the journey will be a big thing to think about. This is never more true than when the journey will take a long time, for example, longer than half an hour. Children need a place to channel their energy and stay busy while traveling about whether that is by car, bus, or train. Your job will be to make sure they have enough to keep them entertained and be actively present for answering questions, handing out snacks, and so on.
Considering The Emotional Side Of Day Trip Things
There is a chance that your foster child will be feeling a little bit worried, so this should be at the top of your mind, too. You can handle this proactively because if you don’t, it may spiral out of control and ruin the whole experience for them.
Expect to spend a portion of your day reassuring and reiterating the plan so that your foster child can feel comfortable and confident in what’s happening around them. This is likely to be a big deal for them, so take it slow and invest as much in the preparation as you do the day itself.
Day trips are a normal part of foster care, but they still require a certain amount of planning and consideration. There will be a lot of things to handle, so make sure you get a jump on things and start as soon as you can.
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