Chrysalis Care Fostering - Fostering can really transform your life

#mythbustermission: 10 things to do before becoming a foster carer

Becoming a foster carer is an awesome decision to make and as much as Chrysalis Care will work alongside you every step of the way, there are some things that you can give thought to, beforehand.  Here, we share ten of them!

  1. Talk it through with everyone in your household, as they will all be involved in fostering children and young people.
  2. If you have children, make sure they understand that other children will be joining their home.  The Directors of Chrysalis Care grew up in a fostering household and they can testify that they played a significant role in fostering.
  3. Tell wider family and friends, as your life will definitely change and they also need to be prepared for the change.  For instance, additional bodies at family functions!
  4. Prepare your support network – you will need to be able to call upon them when you are foster carers.
  5. Reflect upon how you live and think about some of the areas that may need to change when you welcome children and young people into your home.
  6. Start thinking about how you were parented and how you parent. How will this influence how you foster children? This will be explored further in your fostering assessment.
  7. Build in stress management activities from the outset. It will help you to meet the demands that can come with fostering a child or young person.
  8. If you don’t already, introduce some gentle routines into your life/household. This will help a fostered child or young person to feel safer because they have some understanding of how things are supposed to be.
  9. Explore your local area. What fun, educational and leisure activities are there, that you could tap into once you become a foster parent.
  10. Focus in on why you want to foster. Your WHY is probably the most significant motivation before and during your time as a foster carer.

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