Most of us go about our daily lives and think of the world that is revolving around us as individuals: our family, our work, and our personal issues. We wonder if we will have time to cut the grass on the weekend, we think about how we need to bring our car in for an oil change, we think about what we are going to cook for dinner. When it comes to hearing about foster care parents and the children that are so badly in need of love, most people dismiss this as someone else’s issues. There are many things happening in the world, in our own communities; things that can be noticed if a person will just take a few moments. There are so many vitally important events that will are not in our own little revolving worlds; however there may be a child in great need right around the corner from where you live.

Most of us have seen commercial or infomercials on the television regarding children in other countries who are desperately in need of help. It is a very good cause and it is noble to donate to these charities. However, in addition, people should be aware of the needs of children right in our own cities, in our neighborhoods.

A child is born into the world with pure innocence. A child does not know what is right and what is wrong. That innocent little baby depends on responsible and loving parents to teach what correct behavior is. A baby is completely helpless and needs his/her parents to provide proper nutrition and loving care. Toddlers are full of wonderful amazement, as the wobble around and take in the world around them. Always wanting to learn more, toddlers will look to their parents to learn about every object they see. As a child grows older, they depend on the love of their parents to teach the proper ways of communication, fundamentals of knowledge. Every day is exciting for a child, as they learn about the world. Entering school will bring new events all the time, and it is so exciting to watch a child develop, learn and slowly turn into their own cute little person, with their own personalities and quirks. School age children will look to their parents for guidelines, for emotional support, for protection, for knowledge. What happens when these children do not have anyone? What happens when these children are all alone in the world? What happens when children, born innocent to this world, are in the custody of the state and without a loving home? What happens to children that are craving hugs so badly and never receive them? When a child is crying and scared and no one is there to comfort them? This is where foster care parents and the system of providing a loving house come into play.

One may wonder what the difference is between being foster care parents and adoptive parents. Foster care parents and/or parent are a temporary arrangement for a child who cannot live safely with their birth family. An innocent child, born to a family that does not offer the love, caring, protection and support that a young soul is so desperately in need of. If a child is adopted, this is different then foster care parents and the parent would then have a legally binding agreement via the court system that would make them the child’s parents forever. An adoptive parent’s legal status is the same as if that person was the biological parent.

Some children in foster care live with relatives or foster care parents and if neither is available, these children are taken to live in group facilities. The reason that child have to live these sad lives are because their families neglected them, in ways such as not giving them food or hurting them. Thinking of being foster care parents and taking a child into your home is an act that is full of compassion, caring and will forever change a child’s life. Children are not asked to be born, they did not ask to have parents that did not take care of them and they certainly should not be living in group homes. How sad a world it is, when there are not enough foster care parents and a child is left with an empty heart.