Mackenzie Bond
English IV
Ms. Nenning
Foster Care When we are little our parents are like our superheroes, we look up to them for support and guidance. Some children never get the gift of parents and have to move from foster families or to children’s homes. There are many different types of abandonment. Another type is recurring abandonment, which is when the custodial parent leaves their child multiple times for a short period without binding reason. Foster care plays a big role in my life. It makes me sad to think of all the kids that don’t have parents to look up to. I have had a lot of experience with foster care and I have come to understand how hard it is to come into a foster family that you don’t even know and try to get used to them but it is better than the situation they are coming from. When the foster kids would show up at my house all scared and traumatized. My family and I would try our best to make the kids feel at home and safe. Sometimes these kids would tell us what was going on in their life’s before they came here and it was horrifying hearing the stories of what they had gone through.
A parent can leave for less than a day at a time but the more these days build up, the court can file for a change in custody (Broemmel). Throughout history, most records of abandonment were caused by extreme poverty, says the University of Chicago (Broemmel). The parents of these children think that the child will find a better home with a higher social standing, which causes them to leave. Other reasons are mental illness, substance abuse, and fear.
The show Teen Mom is a great example of abandonment caused by fear. Many of these mothers struggle with drugs and providing for their family as they fall apart. They often rely on parents or adoption. Many times, children who are put up for adoption are left feeling lost and unwanted. Infants, ‘from birth through the first year, develop a sense of trust and attachment including "the capacity to 'bond' to ensure their survival,"’ (Ryan). When this bond is broken the children will have troubles with personal relationships, self- image, mood swings and behavior.
These are all effects of abandonment and are known as a borderline personality disorder (BPD) says the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (Ryan). Along with BPD children can experience the feeling of shame, which can carry through to their adulthood. If a parent leaves a child while "developing their sense of worth” (Ryan). Child abandonment is a sad and serious issue faced by families all over the world.
Factors that create the need for an alternative home for children are often poverty, mental illness, domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse and/or physical illness.
Each of these circumstances often prevents the basic needs of dependents from being met. When solutions to child abandonment are not readily available, children may suffer from inadequate supervision, physical and sexual abuse in the home. Many U.S. states have places called "safe havens" where custodial parents may leave children they are unable to care for. Safe havens, however, are not foolproof solutions to child abandonment.
The current child-welfare system, he says, is quick to take a child away from impoverished or otherwise struggling birth parents. For those who love their