Our Second Foster Son

Our second foster son, "Bo," is Foster Son from earlier posts. He is the foster child that has been with us the longest. Aurelius was with us for one week, but Bo was with us for one year. Bo was a part of our family. He went to all of our events-- holidays, wedding receptions, baby showers. He was with us for my entire pregnancy and the first couple of months of Elise's life. We miss him.

Bo was often very difficult. He could be so good and sweet, or completely out of control. He yelled, hit, spit, kicked, threw things-- you name it. He was 3 years old, so even at his worst he was fairly easily contained. But it was a huge emotional stress on us when Bo was being bad.

His behavior improved dramatically while he was with us because we were strict, consistent, and gave him lots of postitve reinforcement. Husband and I learned so much from our experience with Bo. We refined our parenting techniques and learned how to work together.

Bo was a really funny kid, and what I remember most about him now that he's gone are some of the funny things that he's said. Like the time he insisted that I show him where we put the batteries in for the chair at the dinner table. He refused to believe that chairs don't use batteries.

Bo went back to live with his mother at the end of the year with us. She got her life straightened out and was able to get him back. That's the best thing that can happen for a foster kid. I hope that Bo's mom's life stays on the right path. I hope that he gets to grow up with the stability and positive influences that he deserves. That all kids deserve.