Fostering was something that only amazing couples and families did to help young people in need and not something a single person did. Especially a 60 year old! At least that is what I thought until about a year ago, when I was helping a recently arrived young refugee. He had been travelling on his…
Having 4 children of our own aged between 3 and 10 years, we thought a young person within that age range would be the perfect way to start our fostering journey. We were imagining our first foster child being under 10 and fitting in perfectly with the family! 2 days after panel we got that…
If you’re like us – two gay guys, who have always loved interacting with our nieces and nephews and friends’ kids, but never had the desire to have children of our own, if you’ve got a spare room in your house and time to commit – then fostering can fill that gap in your lives…
The morning begins with coffee whilst checking emails, website chat log and social media, to see if any new fostering applicants have contacted us since the office closed the previous evening. The enquiries can be varied, from people with no knowledge of what fostering is or whether they are suitable, some wanting to know the…
What was all the fuss about? Having watched the Channel 4 programme where Jo-Rosie Haffenden, a dog training expert takes the understanding and techniques she uses with dogs to modify children’s behaviour. I remain as outraged as I was prior to actually seeing it all played out, and deeply saddened. I am left with a…
Imagine you live with a partner and when they want you to make them a cup of tea, they click their fingers, give a clear order, “cup of tea” and when you bring it (if you do!) they feed you a choccy drop and say “good boy/girl.” Would you feel you had any value other…
Foster care: what does it really mean? You might know it happens, but do you really know what it entails? Fortunately for myself, I grew up with the best friend whose single mum was a carer. At that time, she cared for two beautiful young brothers. I grew extremely attached to the boys, and at…
It’s Foster Care Fortnight 2019 and my 15th or 16th year working in the sector. It’s been so long I’m allowed to not quite remember when I started! Fostering remains one of the most amazing things anyone can do or at least one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen someone do. I have…
As parents and foster carers, we are always concerned about our children/young people being vulnerable. When I was a foster carer and my children were of school age, I used to worry about them being bullied at school or being made to feel left out and isolated. How times have changed and how I wish…