When children enter the foster care system, they are experiencing an extremely difficult and emotional time. Being removed from their parents and home environment can be traumatic, especially for young children. During this challenging transition, the presence of siblings can provide vital emotional support and a sense of stability. There are clear benefits to placing siblings together in foster care whenever it is safe and possible to do so.
The Importance of the Sibling Bond
The sibling bond is unique and powerful. Siblings share a connection through their shared family experiences, ancestry, and upbringing. Having a sibling to lean on makes children in foster care feel less alone. Even when siblings bicker from time to time, deep down, they rely on one another for friendship, guidance, and unconditional love. Studies show that siblings placed together in foster care have better behavioural and mental health outcomes. Staying with siblings enhances a foster child’s resilience and ability to adjust to a new setting.
Consistency Through Disruption
Entering foster care brings a profound sense of loss. Children are separated from their parents, home, school, and neighbourhood. Everything familiar is gone. For a child to lose contact with their siblings during this time compounds the trauma enormously. Siblings know each other intimately. They share memories of family life. Keeping siblings together provides continuity at a time of drastic change. It preserves the closest remaining connections children have. Siblings can reminisce together about the past and provide reassurance that their unbreakable bond remains despite shifting circumstances.
Improved Placement Stability
Multiple studies have indicated that placing siblings together leads to greater placement stability for the children involved. This makes intuitive sense. Siblings have shared experiences that strangers do not. They can comfort each other when a new living situation is challenging. Simply having their siblings nearby reduces stress and anxiety. Siblings also hold each other accountable. They are less likely to act out or break rules, knowing their sibling would be impacted. Fostering siblings together motivates them to try and make a placement work.
Shared Support Through the Transition
Entering a new foster home with unfamiliar house rules, schedules, and expectations is difficult. Doing so alone without the benefit of a sibling’s support can be overwhelming. Siblings help each other navigate the many transitions. They provide built-in playmates, classroom buddies, and lunch partners. Foster carers rely on siblings to look out for each other when challenges inevitably arise. Whether starting a new school, making friends, or coping with confusing emotions, siblings tackle transitions together. They provide advice, share excitement, and lean on one another in tough moments.
There are cases where placing siblings together in foster care may be risky, inappropriate, or impossible due to circumstances. However, generally speaking, prioritising keeping siblings together is in their best interest, both short and long-term. The sibling bond forms an anchor through tumultuous times and provides lifelong supportive relationships. For children entering the foster system, maintaining ties with their brothers and sisters brings stability when everything else is uncertain.
Luciana joined our team as a mum blogger in 2020. A dedicated mum to a lively daughter and a dog, Luna, Luciana brings authenticity and passion to every post. Her expertise in parenting and lifestyle topics offers practical, relatable advice for real-life situations.