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15. They want to keep their friends all to themselves.
This sign and how it develops in foster children was discussed earlier. It also is caused by what may be a little fact of human nature. It can be caused by jealousy, not having other friends, and the child’s wanting to have what he has all to himself. Whatever the cause, it is a quick way for him to lose friends.
If your foster child is getting too possessive, talk to him. Say, “I want to talk with you about you and your girlfriend. It is just something I learned along the way. Here it is. If you are too possessive, she might like it at first. After awhile, she will want to spend time with her other friends and do stuff when you are not around. This does not mean she doesn’t still like you. It just means there is more to life than one relationship. Here is the problem. It works better not to be so possessive to begin with. I think if you keep it up, you might push her away. I have a couple of suggestions if you want to keep her as your girlfriend.” Be careful. In all likelihood, the relationship will not last very long anyway. The risk is making him feel breaking up was his fault whether his being too possessive had anything to do with it or not.