When Helen was young, the Foster family moved a lot. After Helen was born, the Fosters moved to Chicago so John could go to law school. Many years later, the family moved back to Idaho. Moving a lot made Helen more outgoing. She cared about what her new classmates thought of her. Because she was the oldest child and only daughter of the family, she had to help a lot as the family grew. She often worked with her mother to care for her three younger brothers and do chores. This was needed even more when the Fosters did not have a lot of money.