Things I didn't understand before having foster children

I had no idea before having foster children what it would actually be like. A list of things I always wondered: every foster child comes with a stipend, it's not enough, no one gets rich doing this and it certainly isn't worth it to be "in it for the money" every child has their own history, and not everyone needs to know what that history is. foster children will not always want to live with foster parents, just becuase it's safe doesn't mean they want to be there foster children can play hell on your self confidence, mine don't always prefer me over strangers I don't want to hear horror stories about babies going home. just because we signed up to send them home doesn't make it any easier when we have to actually send them home, we will bond to them, love them and yes send them home. these kids change your life. I don't mean your outlook on life (although they do that too) they change your schedule, your family life, how you spend time, what you teach your children, everything. visits, worth while, appreciate that the birth parents need them as do the children, it's a huge pain in the rear for scheduling! the parents aren't always the monsters movies make them out to be, and sometimes they are. your family won't always love the children they way you do. (this one shocked me) you now have to be careful about pictures of your family being taken and what will be done with those photos. bio kids might get more attached to foster children than we realized (Ryan might require a lot of therapy) every foster child/case is different and so there are no answers to the million questions you have before your foster child arrives.