FOSTERING AND RESPECT

Fostering opens doors that aren't easy to kick down for normal parents. I'm obviously not suggesting door kicking, it's just a term.  Take for example doctor's appointments. I called our surgery regarding my own needs and was told they had no doctor availability for nearly four weeks. A few days later I called for an appointment for my foster child and got in THE SAME DAY. And that's fair...

Read More

FOSTERING AND FRIENDS

I've got me yet another new best friend, her name is Veronica. In fostering you find yourself meeting so many new people with whom you have lots in common - namely fostering. It's not unique to fostering, most people are drawn to like-minded people. But fostering brings out a very special camaraderie, and it's a good camaraderie too. It's a 'we're all in this together' thing, spiced up with a dash...

Read More

MEETING THE PARENTS

In fostering you sometimes meet the parents of your foster child. Before I came into fostering I had no idea I would, but you do. Not always but often. There's a law that says that children in care must have contact with their 'significant others', usually once a week on average. And it often falls to us - the Carers - to transport the children to these contacts. It might be at a Contact Centre...

Read More

COULD THE ROYALS FOSTER?

Fostering; it's just real life. People who are thinking of becoming Foster Carers often seem worried that they have a cluttered past and lack the magic ingredient, whatever that is. To tackle the first worry; everyone has a cluttered past. I always say 'Look at the Royal Family'. Whatever you think of them as an institution or as individuals, they are probably the most cluttered family any of us...

Read More