Friday 17 May 2013

A foster family

At my support meeting yesterday one of the foster carers asked whether I could look after her foster child for a few days respite, while she had to go away on a personal matter. After discussing with my support worker I was happy to accept.

It’s great to have a good network of carers, so we can help each other when urgent matters arise. It also gives you great experience of looking after children from different backgrounds and heritage.

I have cared for a number of children from different backgrounds including  African-Caribbean heritage, Asian, British and Eastern European. This is given me greater exposure to different cultures and I have learnt lots of new skills from how to care for different hair and skin types, preparing various foods and even learnt a little about the different religions.

When looking after children from different cultures you realise that there are so many similarities and like all children, they ultimately need the same love, care and security.

Sometimes when I am out shopping and most recently at a wedding I attended, people assumed and questioned whether the child was my own, particularly when they are of a different race. At first this situation was awkward but as I got used to explaining that I am a foster carer people would be really impressed and inspired.

I realised that people were really interested in foster care, and that when they asked these questions it was a good opportunity to talk more about becoming a foster carer and the rewards it brings.

 I take great pride in being a foster carer and being able to provide a child with a better start in life and to treat them like my own, is truly a blessing.
 
 




No comments:

Post a Comment