Helping parents understand what feelings and moods are normal and what might need a little extra attention.
Becoming a mom changes you forever — and that includes your mental and emotional state of being.
Every quarterback has a backup, many computers are backed up because of viruses, and every lead actor has supporting roles alongside them.
So what do foster parents do when they need to rest, recharge or deal with a virus? They reach out to the wonderful people who do RESPITE. Respite is defined as a short period of rest or relief from something difficult. Yet if you ask any foster parent, it is a service that is so very much more. If it were up to foster parents, they would win the Oscar for “Best Supporting” role every single year!
Parenting children is “heartwork” and hard work. The latter of the two can take its toll on a person, a relationship or a family.
Our health and the health of our relationships, our ability to parent has to be intact so we can be there for our children. When we are so drained we can’t be the spouse, partner, mother, father we know we can be, then our children suffer the consequences. When you care for people, it’s not all about being with them; it’s about being there for them. When we reach out to a respite angel for that needed break or help in a situation, we take the needed steps to being there for our children in so many ways.
Our respite angels at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services are some of the most unselfish, giving people you will ever see. They will take a child for a night, a weekend, several days or more than a week. They will shower the children with attention, love and experiences, often paying out of their own pockets. They give security and comfort to the foster parents leaving the children in their care. Foster parents don’t have to leave a litany of explanations as to why their child says or does certain things because our respite angels “get it.” They understand our children.
They are the grateful answer when foster parents are saying:
So in the words of Academy Award-nominated actress Viola Davis,
“YOU IS KIND.”
“YOU IS SMART.”
“YOU IS IMPORTANT.”
5-year-old Jude has been treated for retinoblastoma for most of his life — but his spirit has never wavered.
Care has never been closer to home for families in Northeast Wisconsin.
Drawing on his own experience, Dr. John Densmore is improving care for kids with sunken chest.
Care at Children’s Wisconsin led Nick Nora to pursue a career in medicine.
Evangelina and Ricardo Hernandez share their foster care journey.
For kids with chronic pain, a new intensive program is giving them relief.
When one family experienced the unthinkable, they turned their grief into hope and change.
