Here are 10 books which are recommended for foster carers as well as people looking into foster care, these books give a great insight and guidance on how to handle certain issues and what fostering is like for carers and children.
Why Can’t My Child Behave? Empathic Parenting Strategies that Work for Adoptive and Foster Families by Dr. Amber Elliott
This book gives a really good understanding of Therapeutic parenting, and why children may not be responding to particular behavior management strategies.
It is a great book to have when foster carers are encountering difficulties with the child’s behavior. It introduces a therapeutic way of parenting and understanding how their past experiences have impacted on their behavior, and strategies of how to support them.
The Foster Parenting Toolbox: A practical, hands-on approach to parenting children in Foster Care by Kim Phagan-Hansel
This book is a special as it has had over 100 foster carers, case workers, social workers, and judges contributed to this book to help compile this book. It covers topics from newborns to teens and this book is not only helpful to foster parents, but also benefits case workers, social workers, judges, and others.
The Simple Guide to Child Trauma (Simple Guides) by Betsy de Thierry
This book is a great starting point, particularly for brand new carers, on understanding and supporting a child who has experienced trauma. It gives helpful advice on understanding how a child’s trauma has affected their behavior.
Raising Boys by Steve Biddulph
This is a light-hearted book, easy to read book and covers raising boys and also cover the different stages they go through. It gives an insight on to how their brains develop, how their nervous system is wired up in a different sequence. The book goes through the stages and helps you understand your boys and what makes them unique, how to love them better and make sure they turn out to be well balanced young men.
Nobody’s Child by Kate Adie
This is a truly a great read especially for carers who themselves were adopted, may have a child whom they are to adopt or will prepare to be adopted. It is a good book about identity and life story and also useful for carers who may care for a child with little or no information about themselves.
Why Love matters – how affection shapes a baby’s brain by Sue Gerhardt
This is a really good read for foster carers, regardless of caring for babies or older children as it enables you to understand how a mother’s self-care and experiences during pregnancy impacts on the unborn child’s brain development and emotional regulation.
A Child’s Journey Through Placement UK Edition Vera Fahlberg MD BAAF Adoption and Fostering
This is an excellent book which covers everything from attachment, bonding, child development, separation, and loss, minimising the trauma of moves, behavior problems and life story work. Carers would find the range of subject areas very helpful in gleaning information to aid their understanding and offers help to them caring for children in the care system.
Fifty-One Moves by Ben Ashcroft
This book by Ben Ashcroft is the story of a child going into the care system and how the boy went through loneliness and rejection in his family life. Ben entered the care system aged 9 and faced such challenges as crime, drugs, absconding and being in custody. 10 years on he now motivates young people from similar backgrounds to believe that they can turn their lives around in the same manner that Ben has accomplished.
Therapeutic Adventures with Autistic Children by Jonas Torrance
This book has uplifting tales that show the positive impact creative therapy can have on children with autism.
Just Another Kid: Each was a child no one could reach – until one amazing teacher embraced them all by Torey Hayden
A beautiful illustration which covers the narrative of an extraordinary teachers concern not only for a few emotionally disturbed children but for one woman facing a personal battle.
