FF Blog 8: How Fostering Changes Lives

People who make the decision to become a Foster Carer, do so because they want to make a positive difference in a child’s life.

Foster children vary in age, from babies to teenagers, and every child’s story is different and unique.  At The Fostering Team we provide a wide range of the highest quality services to meet the needs of traumatised young people.  Our Foster Carers look after and support children and young people by offering them a place to call home for as long as they need it.

The positive differences that fostering brings to children’s lives can be unbelievable.  Many Foster Carers say that fostering is the best thing that they ever did.  Even the small things, like going to the cinema, shopping or trying a new sport, can really build children’s confidence.

Offering to provide a child or young person a nurturing and safe environment in your own home when they are unable to live with their birth family is an amazing, selfless gift.  Becoming a Foster Carer is about giving children and young people a loving home and an experience of how family life should be – transforming their lives for the better.

However, it’s not just foster children’s lives that change for the better through fostering, many Foster Carers don’t anticipate the positive changes it can bring about in their own lives too.  Fostering is a learning curve and can, at times, be challenging yet an incredibly rewarding experience.  Becoming a Foster Carer really is life-changing and can be amazing and wonderfully rewarding.

How Does Fostering Change Lives?

There are endless positive stories of how fostering changed children’s and Foster Carers’ lives for the better.  When you decide to become a Foster Carer, you will need to have a caring nature and lots of energy, along with bags of empathy, commitment and patience to look after the most vulnerable children who enter your home.  Being a Foster Carer helps you to deepen your understanding and patience and will challenge you in helping you to be the best person you can be.

Here are just a few of the ways that fostering changes lives:

• Fostering can give a child or young person a stable, secure home.
• Fostering provides opportunities to make new, lifetime friendships.
• Fostering gives children a chance to have a fresh start in life.
• Fostering can remove a young person or child from harm or vulnerable situations.
• Fostering can be extremely rewarding for the whole family.

Become Part of an Enriching Community

The one thing that all our Foster Carers have learnt is that they are never alone.  You will always have round the clock, expert support available.  Fostering is a 24/7 commitment, that’s why we offer out of hours support every day of the year.  Our expert fostering team provide an informed response to Foster Carers whatever time of day or night it may be needed. Our team includes a dedicated and experienced network of fostering families that offers support in whatever way it is needed to Foster Carers from all walks of life.  This has often led to new, long-term friendships.

Already Have Your Own Birth Children?

If you already have your own children, it’s common to be anxious about how bringing a foster child into your home may impact on them.  Many Foster Carers have been overwhelmed by the positive impact fostering a child can have on their own children.  It can add lots of positives where a foster child can teach your children important skills such as empathy and kindness, and also make them appreciate their own home life.  Fostering a child really can change your life and your family’s life for the better in more ways than one.

Start Your Fostering Journey Today

So if you’ve been thinking about how fostering changes lives, it’s not just going to make a positive difference to foster children, but to you too – together, we can make a difference.  Start your journey and find out more about what being a Foster Carer with The Fostering Team involves.