Sarah and Andrew; life after lockdown
Sarah said, ‘We are looking forward to connecting with other foster carers; our young lady is very much looking forward to meeting other children.’ ‘It is good for her to meet other children similar to herself; she will know that she is not alone. Networking together will be good for all of us.’
‘Throughout the pandemic, you go from working full-time to being at home all the time; it is pretty isolating, especially for children.’
‘During the pandemic, your days are spent running around after children, but you need to build relationships with other foster carers.’ ‘It will be good to meet up and have a brew together, go to the park together and let the children have fun and play together.’
‘Sometimes, you have hard days, especially when you are both a foster carer and a parent; you want to share it with others who understand.’ ’Sometimes, you find things difficult. That doesn’t mean you have failed, but often the additional support by a friendly chat with someone who knows is the help you need.’
Sarah said, ‘Our young lady has been okay throughout the lockdown, but she caught COVID herself and was poorly for 10 days.’ ‘She also broke her arm recently; she has not had it easy. However, on the outside, she appears to be resilient, and nothing phases her.’
‘I know it is hard for her; she’s also coming up to a difficult period in her life; she’s 11 soon, which is difficult enough for any young girl. However, we know her well, and we have coping mechanisms and lots of training to help us.’
“We know we can go on as many courses as we can, but we need to understand our young lady.’ Caring for children today is so different from my childhood; back then, mental health then was not really a big thing.’
‘Thankfully, things are different now. We know that it is not okay to just get on with things; it’s not helpful for children.’ ‘We tell her we understand if she has had a rubbish day and see what we can do to make it better.”
Click here to read more about Sarah and Andrew’s fostering story…
Click here to enquire about fostering with Caritas Care
Rated Outstanding by Ofsted.
