Children being placed with us receive a welcome box when they arrive, this will usually contain a soft toy or worry monster, pad and pens, a blanket (handmade) and a children’s guide.
I thought about welcome boxes this week as I worked with two children that have been placed with us in an emergency.
The soft Cuddly toys were named as soon as they were taken out of the box, ‘Ellie and Ted’ , they were cuddled, carried around and placed on their beds, the notebook over the next couple of days was used as a diary, with the young person writing what will be happening each day until their next court date, it was important for them that they knew what was happening and when .
One of the children wrapped themselves up in their blanket, you could see it becoming a comfort blanket while the other child laid it on their bed.
These children came to us with nothing, just the clothes they were wearing, this little welcome box allowed these children to feel some sense of security and belonging in a very surreal and scary time for them. It promoted communication and an understanding we were there to support them.
After my huge hug on my second visit whilst holding ‘Ellie’ from one of the young people, who was very unregulated and scared at first, I felt this box did its job!
The impact of these welcome boxes made me reflect on how important they can be for our children coming into care and how it helped me, and the children to connect.
