So, you’re thinking of becoming a foster carer. I’m sure you’ve got lots of questions, like will it affect my lifestyle, my relationships or even my family? Well it definitely will.
I have been a foster carer for over twelve years now and it has certainly affected my life, although not in a bad way, but rather in a positive and life affirming way. I can honestly say my wife and I becoming foster carers is one of the best decisions we have ever made.
There will be highs and there will be lows and everything in between. There will be days when you think “why am I doing this”, but there will also be days when you’ll know why. You will just “get it” and the breakthrough you make with the child in your care and the feeling of satisfaction and achievement is immense.
The opportunity to help a young person who may up to now have had a life full of pain is a job worth doing. I know some people don’t like the term job in relation to being a foster carer, but it is a job. You will receive training, you will be tested and you will be paid. But they’re not the important aspects because you will be able to make a difference in the life of a child; a child who finds themself in care through no fault of their own; a child whose experience of family could be very different to your own.
Children in the care system need all the same parenting, nurturing and love that birth children have, but often the first thing they need is a chance. Become a foster carer and give a child a chance because it just might be one of the best decisions you ever make.