Sandra Bullock Speaks Out About Her Daughter's Trauma After Foster Care

Jan 04, 2022 by apost team

Back in December 2021, actress Sandra Bullock appeared on an episode of "Red Table Talk," the Facebook Watch series hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris and her daughter Willow Smith. During the interview, Bullock opened up about her children, 11-year-old Louis and 8-year-old Laila. She adopted her son back in 2010 and her daughter back in 2015, and has enjoyed every moment with them since, through all of the ups and downs along the way.

Bullock adopted Louis when he was only ten days old, and knew that he was meant to be her son. Just five years later, she welcomed Laila into her family as well. Bullock had actually found both children in Louisiana, and it seemed like fate when they all came to be part of one another's lives.

Unfortunately, the actress has since faced some backlash and criticism from others about her choice to adopt, especially since she is a white woman who adopted two Black children. On top of that, Bullock has also struggled with learning how to truly care for her children, specifically Laila, and the young girl was traumatized from her time in the foster care system. 

Despite being in each other's lives for several years now, Laila has shown that she has what appears to be trust issues and triggers, and even used to hide her food. Fortunately for Louis and Laila, it's clear that they have a very loving and devoted mother who will stop at nothing to make sure her kids are the happiest and healthiest they can be.

Raising Her Children

Speaking with the women of "Red Table Talk," Bullock opened up about how some people criticized her for adopting two Black children. She responded, "But guess what? Your sickness is not my problem." The 57-year-old actress added, "I know it's hard for people to look at a white woman going, 'I just have a hard time getting past that.' I know they push up against that, and then they come into the home and I just go, let our (love) be the evidence.'"

According to Yahoo News, Bullock's daughter Laila had been in three separate foster care systems before she was even 3 years old. Sadly, it's clear that this had a rough toll on the young girl, as it seemed like she was experiencing trauma in the years to follow. 

In December 2021, there was reported to be an estimated 424,000 young people in foster homes across the United States. Children who enter foster care have increased rates of childhood trauma, with at least 20% of abused children in foster care experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to Yahoo News.

Bullock explained:

"I had my kids in my (walk-in) closet with their little beds because I was so afraid to not have them super close to me. And I would talk in and I wouldn't be able to find her. She'd be in the closet, with all her clothes on, she'd be on a bookshelf, she'd be hiding and she'd always be ready to leave. She was always telling me she was leaving."

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A Protective Mother

Unfortunately, this was not the only behavior Laila exhibited that showed she had trauma. "I saw triggers happening on a daily basis," Bullock said. At first, it was difficult for the actress to not take her daughter's actions so personally, but she quickly learned that it was just Laila's survival instincts coming into play.

Bullock said:

"Laila would hide food. It's survival. Absolute survival. Her spirit and just who she is has pushed (her) forward beyond the trigger and the fears. They'll come up for the rest of her life, there will be feats that she has, but she knows that wherever she chooses to go to school, I'm moving there. That's the joke in the house. You guys need to pick the same college if you go, the same city to live in, because I'm gonna be living there."

Wanting to be the best mom possible, Bullock was previously evaluated before even being allowed to foster or adopt her children, according to Yahoo News. "(Foster care) is a system that exists and people don't know about it because it's a difficult thing to talk about," the actress said. "It gets deep and it gets dark. When I first went into the process myself, you have to prove that you're a capable parent – you're in the judgment cage…" 

Afterward, Bullock also took some classes to better understand how to parent a child with trauma. It's evident that Louis and Laila take up a large space in her heart, and that this mother will do absolutely anything to make sure they are safe, happy and healthy.

What do you think about Sandra Bullock's approach to parenting? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your loved ones, too.