Fostering is more than just providing a child with a safe home – it’s about finding the right home where they feel understood, accepted, and loved.
From developing a sense of belonging to helping them be children again, the benefits of matching a child with the right foster family can truly change their life. Join us as we explore these life-changing benefits in more detail.
Why finding the right family matters
When children are matched with the wrong family, it can lead to placement breakdowns and more upheaval. But when they’re matched with the right families, they can begin to rebuild their lives. Here are just some of the positive impacts of well-thought-out matches.
Helping children feel like they belong
Everyone wants to feel like they belong – like they matter. This all begins with having a safe place to call home, where you feel loved and accepted for who you are.
When children move into care, they may have never experienced home in this way. For them, home may have been where they felt misunderstood, unheard, or frightened. They may feel completely alone and struggle to understand where they truly belong.
Children need a safe haven of love and support to build their self-esteem and to feel secure enough to explore the wider world. When children feel like they belong, it can help them realise their full potential and see a future without limits.
That’s why matching children with the right foster families is so important. When they’re matched with foster families who listen to them, understand their needs, and help them feel part of the family, it nurtures a sense of belonging. They know that, no matter the situation, they’ll always have someone to turn to.
Providing long-term stability
Stability helps us feel safe and in control of our lives. With stability comes routine, which can ease anxiety and free our minds to focus on what truly matters, like exploring our interests or spending time with the people we love.
Many children in care have spent their early lives in unstable environments. They may not have known when they would have their next meal, experienced inconsistent relationships, or moved homes several times. This lack of stability and routine can make it difficult for children to stay on top of their schoolwork, form meaningful friendships, and build a positive future.
When children are matched with the right foster families, they are less likely to leave unexpectedly. This gives them the long-term stability they need to concentrate on what matters most – building friendships, achieving at school, and looking to the future with hope rather than fear.
Building a sense of identity
Knowing who we are, where we’ve come from, and what matters to us most gives our life meaning and direction.
Our identity is made up of our past and present experiences. It includes our values, roles in relationships, culture, and beliefs. We begin building a sense of identity in childhood, and as we gain more life experience, it continues to evolve.
When children move into care, they may develop a skewed sense of identity. For example, if they’ve experienced abuse, they may internalise this as being unworthy of love or deserving of the things that happened to them. When they move into care, they also leave behind everything that has shaped their identity so far, which can profoundly impact their sense of self.
When children are matched with the right foster family, they are given the space to explore their identity and make sense of their experiences. They can continue celebrating their culture and heritage while discovering new things about themselves. They are guided on their healing journey so they can begin making decisions about their future that truly reflect who they are.
Helping children be children again
When we’re born, we’re like a blank canvas, and our early years begin to paint a picture of what the world is like and how we fit into it.
Childhood is meant to be a carefree time for exploration and discovery – a time to look at the world in wonder as we experience everything for the very first time.
But what happens if your first experiences of the world leave you with a pain in your stomach because you’re hungry or frightened of people who are meant to care for you? Those early experiences would begin to paint a bleak picture.
Many children in care have experienced a lifetime of adversity in their early years, leaving them to carry the weight of trauma, making the world feel like a frightening and unsafe place.
The impacts of these early experiences can be felt throughout their lives, affecting their relationships, health, confidence, and opportunities. But when children are matched with the right foster families, who help them feel safe, nurtured, and loved, they can become explorers again, be children again and begin repainting their picture of the world.
Creating stable homes
At Clifford House, children in our care aren’t simply matched with any available family. We put all our efforts into carefully matching children with their foster families, considering each child’s unique needs to find the right family. Our methods ensure that care arrangements last and don’t end sooner than expected.
We do our best to match children with families who share the same culture or faith. When this isn’t possible, we provide training to ensure foster parents can continue to nurture these important parts of a child’s identity.
When you foster with us, we really get to know you, so when you welcome a child into your home, they’ll feel like they naturally fit in with your family. You’ll also be enrolled on our trauma-informed training programme, where you’ll gain the knowledge and skills to guide children on their healing journey.
We are by your side throughout your fostering journey, offering 24/7 support and welcoming you into a community of foster parents who’ll make you feel at home
If you’re ready to change a child’s life by becoming a foster parent, we’d love to hear from you! Call us on 0800 369 8515 or fill in our online enquiry form, and a member of our friendly team will be in touch.