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Meet Sarah, a single foster mum in the West Midlands. Sarah has been fostering with Clifford House for four years. Her three children, aged 5, 16 and 18, are growing up in a home which fosters and find it to be a rewarding, exciting, and sometimes challenging experience.
Sarah proudly shares how fostering has enriched not only her life, but the lives of her children, too. Let’s take a look at some of the amazing ways in which working together as a family can make your fostering experience rewarding and provide your family with lasting relationships and memories to cherish forever.
Bringing families closer together
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and fostering is an amazing way to strengthen the bonds between you and your loved ones. Sarah and her children work together as a team, leaning on one another for support, and every child in her home benefits from her decision to be a foster mum.
Sarah proudly talks about the joy of watching her children grow through fostering, and how welcoming a new child into their home has helped them to become well-rounded, empathetic young people.
Learning Together
Fostering can bring plenty of joy to your family life. Sarah’s youngest son loves playing with his older foster brother, and especially when he reads him stories. Having another child in the home to play, grow and learn with can be hugely beneficial, and it can be a joy to watch your little ones grow together.
“It’s really lovely to see [our foster siblings] develop and grow. I am always really proud to say that my mum is a foster carer, because it’s such a lovely thing to do and there’s so much positivity around it.”
Sarah’s Daughter
Everyone is a part of the journey
Everyone should feel valued and like part of the team when you welcome a new child into the family home. Everyone has a role to play in making a foster child feel welcome, and you can get your children involved by asking them to pick out a new toy which they think the child might like, by getting their creative input when putting together your family book or by asking them to help out by giving the child you’ll be looking after a tour of the home.
When your family feels like a team and everyone’s role is valued, you can help ensure that everyone has an enjoyable and memorable fostering experience.
Understanding one another
There can be some tricky times when fostering, as well as many wonderful moments and milestones. It’s natural for some conflicts to arise when a new person joins your family—for example, you may find that your children have complicated emotions around the extra attention your foster child may need when they first come to live with you, or that your little ones struggle to share with their new foster sibling.
When you encourage the children in your home to communicate openly and honestly about what they’re feeling without the fear of being judged, you can help them to develop their communication abilities and healthy conflict-resolution skills.
Building new relationships
Being a foster family gives both you and your children plenty of opportunities to make new friends, develop your relationships and widen your perspective on the world. When fostering your family will be able to meet and befriend people from all different backgrounds. Many children in care choose to keep in touch with their foster family long after they’ve left the family home, so the strong bonds which your children build with their foster siblings can last a lifetime.
Your family will also have the opportunity to befriend other fostering families through our support groups and local events which are fun for the whole family. These include summer days out and our annual Christmas party!
How we’ll support your family
When you join Clifford House, every member of your family will receive consistent support from our team, including support specially tailored for your own children. We’ll do all we can to ensure that your children feel supported and excited during your family’s fostering journey. Learn more about how to support your children while fostering.
“Clifford House has always been there to support me. I can ring them any time, night or day, and there’s always a friendly person on the other end of the phone who can give me as much support and advice as I need.”
-Sarah
Become a foster parent today
Could your family welcome a new child into your home? If so, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us today by calling us on 0800 369 8515 or fill in our online enquiry form, and a member of our team will get in touch.
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