Maybe not at first, but as months and years pass you will be affected. The changes, like life around us, range from very good to very negative. You will find that your relatives fit into two categories when you inform them that you are going to take in a foster child. Either they proclaim you the saints of the family or just plain nuts. Whichever side of the discussion they voice their opinion on, your choice to take in foster children puts them in various dilemmas.
Grandparents suffer through a multitude of questions.
Besides the normal dilemma of whether to include the foster child on their Christmas list, I had a grandparent question whether they should be included in their will. If you only take one or two foster children into your homein your lifetime those questions may need an honest answer, but after ten or more foster children the questions become moot. Foster parents are trained to respect the privacy of the foster child and their families. Relatives don't always understand why you can't tell them about their new niece or nephew. Their bewilderment only gets worse when the child acts out in an inappropriate manner and you can't justify the behavior because the past history falls into the data privacy area.