Many traumatized children have no idea how to have fun. When you live in an abusive household, having fun is hardly a priority to those living in the home. Everything revolves around meeting the abuser’s wants/needs. There is no room for fun. Any fun that the child had was tempered with the fear of being abused again. Even worse, some “games” were used against the child to harm him.

Now that your foster or adopted child is living in your home, he needs you to teach him how to have fun. He needs to learn that it is okay to have a good time, and he might need you to show him how to do it. Your foster or adopted child might not have experienced much laughter before joining your home. Teaching him how to have fun and laugh can be a wonderful present from you to him.