Stepping into the world of foster parenting is a bit like embarking on a journey across uncharted territory, because you know that caring for a baby that has just become a part of your family is not a piece of cake, as many think. You can read every handbook, attend every mandatory training class, and even listen to well-meaning advice from friends. But it is possible that when you face the reality and welcome a child, an infant, into your family as foster parents, you will face difficulties and certain challenges. For new and veteran foster parents alike, finding a reliable guide is essential, which makes Get Too Attached: Collective Wisdom on Fostering Babies by Alicia McCormick, PhD, a great resource.
New foster parents experience a jarring disconnect between the sanitized scenarios presented in pre-service training and the chaotic, emotional landscape of daily caregiving. Where training classes tend to focus heavily on compliance, legal timelines, or the behaviors of older children, leaving those who welcome infants feeling entirely unequipped. And they can grapple with midnight wails, unexpected medical complexities, and the crushing weight of the unknown.
Dr. McCormick compiles reflections from a diverse group of foster parents who have walked the road before you. In this book, they share the heartbreak of watching a child reunify, the exhaustion of sleep deprivation compounded by drug withdrawal symptoms, and the beauty of witnessing a tiny, dysregulated nervous system finally find peace. By reading these accounts, foster parents realize they are never alone in their struggles, doubts, or overwhelming love.
The book also serves as a powerful corrective to cultural misconceptions. Society often romanticizes babies as “clean slates” who are immune to trauma because they are too young to remember. Get Too Attached shatters this myth, helping foster parents understand how prenatal stress, substance exposure, and separation trauma imprint on an infant’s mind and body long before they can speak. With this awareness, parents can move away from frustration and toward true, trauma-informed empathy.
If you are a foster parent or someone considering that courageous leap, this book will transform how you view your role, and it teaches you how to advocate fiercely, protect your own mental health through community and therapy, and why getting attached to your child is the most important thing you can do for them to become happy and healthy.
So, waste no time. Add it to your nightstand, read it with a highlighter in hand, and let the collective wisdom of seasoned foster parents steady your heart for the journey ahead. You don’t need to worry about this beautiful transition in your life. Just love your child and read this book to gain the proper knowledge.
Read the book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/021kJ9Y3
