When children are removed from their homes, a priority when finding the right foster family is to place them in a home of the same culture. Unfortunately, due to the limited number of foster homes available at any given time, a cultural match is not guaranteed.

Foster parents’ role is to provide safe, stable and loving environments for children who have been removed from everything they know. And in transcultural placements, respecting and including the cultural heritage provides a source of comfort and familiarity amidst these changes.

The Pucketts, foster parents in Antioch, Tennessee, have had a Guatemalan foster daughter, Maria*, in their care for the last two years and have made her culture a priority.

Every week, Maria gets to choose at least one meal that feels like home to her. Sometimes, the family looks up a recipe and prepares the dish together; sometimes they order from local restaurants.

This year, their daughter celebrated her 15th birthday, a significant milestone marking the beginning of adulthood for young women in Latin American cultures. Traditionally, the young girl gets to decide between a trip or a party to celebrate, and the Pucketts gave their foster daughter those options. She chose a party, which the Pucketts hosted in their backyard and included her family members who were able to attend.

Other important cultural dates include holidays, which are particularly important times for foster parents to understand what customs would make children in their care feel more at home. Learn the holidays, meals and traditions that are typical for their ethnicity and/or religion, then ask them what it looks like to them. Everyone celebrates differently, and the most important thing is to increase the child’s sense of comfort and belonging.

For example, Maria shared that she did not have an interest in celebrating Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which is common in some Latin cultures. For Christmas, though, they have made a few adjustments to their celebration.

Every year for Christmas, the Pucketts do “25 Days of Christmas” activities. Even before Maria moved in, they integrated Christmas traditions from other countries like exchanging books and calling it Jólabókaflóð, which means “flood of books” in Iceland, or leaving shoes out to receive small gifts and treats, like Germany’s St. Nicholas Day.

Their first Christmas season together, they asked Maria what made the holiday special to her and added those to their 25 Days of Christmas. One day, they enjoy Ponche Navidad which means Christmas Punch, a warm cider drink with lots of fresh and dried fruits. Another day, they eat tamales and make a traditional chicken stew called Caldo de Pollo. They also now open their gifts on Christmas Eve after mass instead of Christmas morning because that is more typical in Guatemala. Their biological children don’t mind getting their presents a day earlier!

Whether it’s through preparing culturally significant meals, celebrating traditional holidays, or sharing stories from the child’s cultural background, the effort to understand and integrate their foster child’s heritage creates a supportive space where the child feels safe to express themselves, and we are thankful to families like the Pucketts who make inclusivity a priority.

If you have considered becoming a foster parent, take the next step by attending a virtual info session in your region!

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