Short Term Foster Carer June

June tells us in her own words about her life as a foster carer...

 

 

For almost 5 years.  I have always loved children and due to circumstances not choice I only had one child (he is now 31 and not living at home) so when the firm I worked for all my life closed down I decided to go for it - a decision I should have made years ago.

 

 

Short term (task centred) aged 0-12 months.  Initially I had chosen to foster 0 to 10 years and the first placement I had was a 4 year old girl who needed one to one attention.  We bonded from the very beginning and she settled so well that i applied to adopt her.  Thankfully my application was succesful so I adjusted the age range of fostered children to suit her best interests.

 

 

10 including the children who came in for respite care.

 

 

When I was invited to the Court to witness the legal adoption of the last baby in my care.  To see a family made complete and the joy of the adoptive parents faces made every bit of it worthwhile.  It was great knowing I had played my part in such a happy conclusion.

 

 

My son is 31 and my daughter is 8 (I know I know) but she has given me a new lease on life and I feel young at heart again.  My son supports me wholeheartedly and enjoys interacting with the children.  My daughter, having been a fostered child herself understands the system and loves helping me look after babies secure in the knowledge that she is staying forever.

 

 

People often say to me 'I would love to foster but I couldn't cope when they have to leave'.  I do understand this - it almost breaks my heart every time, but my reply is that if everyone thought like that how many children would there be out there without any care at all.  It's not the perfect answer but we do our best and every child has the right to a happy home and feel loved.  So I feel priveledged to be able to help in this way for a short time when they need it the most.  Besides you are never without a placement for very long so your attention turns to the next one and in my experience the positives far outweigh the negatives.  I could wax lyrical about this all day but it comes down to the fact that it is a two way street and I get so much pleasure from a very rewarding 'job'.

 

 

If you think June's 'job' sounds like something you would like to do call us on 0114 273 5075 or drop us a line through our contact form.