Talking to Your Family About Your Decision to Foster

If you’re yearning to do something that makes a real difference, then becoming a foster carer may be just what you’re searching for. By answering the call, you’re in the perfect position to provide a stable, loving, and caring environment for children in need. However, it’s important to talk to your family about your decision and answer any questions they may have.

Starting the Conversation

Telling your family about your decision to start fostering can feel daunting, but it’s best to broach the topic early. This will allow everyone enough time to process the information and ask any questions about the upcoming change.

To get the most out of your conversation, it’s important to choose a time and place where everyone can focus and relax. To get started, explain what fostering entails and why you’re considering it; be completely honest with your answers. To help you out, you can find a wealth of information on thefca.co.uk.

There’s no telling what emotions your family will feel, so be prepared to answer everything. If the conversation becomes too much, don’t be afraid to put a pin in it and come back at a later time when everyone’s had time to begin processing.

Discussing Foster Care with Your Children

Your partner and other adult members of your family will be easy to talk to, but your children may need more time to understand what becoming a foster carer means. As well as starting early and being honest about your reasons to start fostering, spend time educating them about what being a foster carer means to children in need.

In some cases, your words won’t be enough to bring your children around to the idea of welcoming a foster child into the home. To overcome this, we recommend reading relevant books to better show them what to expect. Suitable titles include “Foster Child” by Jacqueline Woodson and “Welcome to Our Family: A Book About Foster Care” by Susan Wood.

Supporting Your Family During this Time

When the time comes to welcome your first foster child, you will need to support your family during the transition. A great way to do this is by encouraging your family to get involved, whether it’s by helping them with homework or simply spending time getting to know them. As well as this, you should encourage your children to welcome foster children into their routine and let them see the benefits of having another person to interact with.

Recognise that your family are only human, so avoid getting worked up if a member of your family makes a mistake. You are all on this journey together, and everyone needs space to evolve at their own pace.

Having an open conversation with your family is a critical step in the process of becoming a foster carer. The experience can be rewarding for everyone involved, but you must create a supportive environment where everyone can express their feelings, make mistakes, and learn.