As January approaches, people around the county begin to make resolutions of what they want to achieve in the new year. These resolutions may include taking a family holiday or moving house. However, one resolution you should consider is starting your fostering journey. Whether you’re in a committed relationship, a single household, an empty nester, or a family with children still at home, there is nothing stopping you from turning 2024 into the year you enrich your life by fostering.
Reasons to Start Your Fostering Journey in 2024
If you’re looking for the top reasons why you need to make 2024 your year to become a foster parent, look no further than the six below.
To Fulfil the Increased Need for Foster Parents
There are children across the country who need a safe and loving home. In England, as stated in Government statistics published on 16th November 2023, 83,840 children were living in care, which highlights the urgent need for new foster homes. Wherever you are located, and no matter what your circumstances, you could foster a child. As long as you have a spare room, you can make your house a haven for a foster child.
What’s more, there is an increased need for homes for older children and siblings. Young children are often fostered at a higher rate than adolescents or sibling groups. If you can open your home to a group of siblings who need a stable family, you are helping fulfil the need for foster parents.
You Will Transform a Child’s Life & Your Life
When you decide to become a foster parent, you are opening your home and life to a child who needs it, and this alone can transform a child’s life for the better. If your foster child comes from a problematic background, welcoming them into your home will give them the opportunity to grow and learn in a supportive, warm environment. It provides your foster child with the chance to move away from trauma and abuse and be in a safe space.
Furthermore, your own life experiences, skills, and background will be crucial in helping to secure a brighter future for a child. Only you have experienced the world in the way you have, which is vital for children to learn how different life can be for different walks of life.
However, fostering also transforms your life. You will learn from your foster child, exploring new skills and opportunities. Fostering enables you to step outside of your comfort zone, allowing you to develop parts of yourself that you may not have had a chance to do before.
You Continuously Learn & Grow
By partnering with a specialist fostering agency, such as ours, you not only change a child’s life but also grow and develop your own life skills. Parenting (in general) boosts critical skills in areas such as conflict resolution and problem-solving. After all, if your child is facing obstacles at school, your problem-solving talent will come into play as you navigate, deal with, and overcome these.
At Clifford House, we offer expert training for all of our foster parents. We don’t expect you to come already full trained and ready to foster, instead we’ll offer in-depth, tailor-made training which enables foster carers to grow their confidence and compassion and build crucial relationships with their foster child and their support network.
You’re Not Ready to Say Goodbye to Parenting
If you are an empty nester, you may not feel like your parenting job has finished. Welcoming a new child to your home can be incredibly exciting and wonderfully rewarding. The chance to teach a child about the world, help them develop critical life skills, and experience life through fresh eyes is contagious. If your adult children have moved on, welcoming a foster child is a great way to bring the noise and laughter back into your home. Even taking pleasure in small occasions, like reading a favourite book to a child or playing outside in the park, can bring joy to your life and, in turn, enrich your foster child’s life.
Flexibility
Say goodbye to a rigid work week. Fostering gives you flexibility, and no day is ever the same. Your home is essentially the office, and your job is to give every child in your care the love and attention they deserve. As a foster parent you’ll also be self-employed, so you’re your own boss. This also entitles you to significant tax-relief.
No One Regrets Becoming a Foster Parent
Even though parenting is a challenge, becoming a foster parent is something you will not regret. After all, how can you regret making a difference in a child’s life and changing their future for the better?
Often, the feedback we receive from foster parents is that they wished they started fostering sooner!
From providing somewhere safe to spending time together having fun, and trying new activities, becoming a foster parent is a decision you’ll wish you had tried years before.
Helping a child grow up within a supportive and loving home is one of the most rewarding and enriching decisions you’ll ever make. Although not always easy, there is nothing more important than providing a child or young person the safe space they need to overcome obstacles and trauma so they can thrive.
Don’t just take our word for it, enquire today with our friendly team to discover what you can provide as a foster parent, and the support you’ll receive from Clifford House.