How trauma can trigger trauma in foster care When I was thinking about secondary trauma in fostering, as I often do, I went on a bit of a thought-fuelled journey as I thought about the topic from various angles. Should I be exploring? 1. Vicarious trauma? 2. Post-traumatic stress? 3. Secondary trauma? 4. Something else?…
I’ve worked in this sector for approximately 13 years and seen tens of thousands of referrals for children which either whirl their way through the internet to my office or arrive following a frantic phone call to my team. One thing that I can’t fail to notice is how a label can have a profound…
Left Ear And Ear Right I have these for listening, Left ear and ear right, Plus the bit in the middle, That struggles at night. The left ear is listening, To a whispering word, The right ear hears different, And all seems absurd. The bit in the middle, Well let’s call it ME, Is locked…
Top 10 Things Every Child Needs We asked our Facebook community what they considered were the top ten things that every child needs taking for granted that food, water and oxygen are necessary for any child. Thanks to all of you for your input. From the responses received we have identified our top 10. Did…
Fostering Patience It’s Monday again and to be honest I seething, The meeting’s been cancelled and the little one’s teething, I need a decision; it was needed last week, It’s a struggle I tell you, to be smiley and meek. They say to be calm and to focus on child, But I’d like them to…
Acronyms, Labels and People Following on from a comment on one of our Facebook threads we decided to throw out to the Facebook world what they thought about the term LAC (Looked After Child) and the issue of labelling children in care. We were met with a sizeable response which included many opinions and views…
How complex attachment can look like divide and conquer! When a baby has early experiences of regularly and relatively calmly having their emotional and physical needs met through kindly interactions both physically and verbally, consistently and without too much stress then they can relax and get on with growing their brain and enjoying new experiences…
Okay so the one thing I always find difficult about writing blogs is how to start them, so I thought I would first just tell you a little bit about ourselves. My name is Charlotte and I married my best friend and now husband Lee last December, we are 27 and 31 years old. We…
Kelly and her partner Dan have been foster carers for a year. Kelly and Dan live with their son aged 9 and their daughter aged 10. Kelly previously grew up as a child of a foster carer and was surrounded by foster children all of her life. Here she tells us of her first experience…