We're going to be looking after someone's dog for a fortnight this summer, as her owners have had no luck with kennels.
I've checked with Blue Sky that this is ok, we had to take the dog to a vet for a "psychological profile". The dog was certified sane, which cost us £30. Obviously you don't want a dodgy dog around foster children.
The dog will stay with us for a night next week, then the whole...
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
FOSTERING AND ME WITH LORRAINE PASCALE
I'm sitting on the sofa it's about 7.00pm and I'm watching "Fostering and Me with Lorraine Pascale" on BBC2.
Lorraine is a model and now a TV chef, and seems amazingly at peace with herself.
Lorraine was taken into care at birth, fostered for 18 months, then adopted by a family that splintered. Lorraine stayed with the adopting mother even though the mother was declining fast, and Lorraine...
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
SENSE OF HUMOUR
When someone plucks up what it takes to apply to be a foster carer, they've probably ticked off the main boxes already.
Spare bedroom, willingness to share the family home with a looked-after child, enthusiasm, and... A SENSE OF HUMOUR.
How do you know if you have a sense of humour? Everyone thinks they have, but this is the kind of sense of humour I'm talking about.
We had a teenager staying...
Friday, June 13, 2014
FOSTERING SIBLINGS
They try to keep siblings together when children come into Care. They, in this case, refers to the local authority, who are the people who make the decision that children should be taken into Care.
One of my fostering friends has had 3 brothers aged 5-10 with her for the last 2 years.
I say "fostering friends", we met through fostering and nothing bonds like being a fellow foster parent, really...
Sunday, June 08, 2014
CONTROL FREAKS
We foster carers are used to being advised by the Blue Sky team that looked after children are big on what they call "control".
Is there anyone alive who hasn't been accused in the heat of the moment by someone they're arguing with of being a "control freak"? I doubt it. I have. So has my other half, oh yes...
Who wants to be out of control? A speeding bus with a bomb and Sandra Bullock on...
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
TEACHERS AND SOCIAL WORKERS
It's really odd how people like to have a go at certain professions.
Never their own. Oh no. Their own profession, they say, is misunderstood, sometimes. That's if anybody ever notices them.
But professions ranging from the police to plumbers get it in the neck routinely. It's lazy of us all, but there's something people seem to enjoy about slagging off people who do a different job from them.
So...