About to foster 1yr old twins

[Vikstar86]

Hi ladies I’m in the process of long term fostering 1yr old twin boys it’s all happened rather quickly so I’m just looking for any advice you can give me and any tips, tricks or must haves.. any advice on what I need to get or they will need would be much appreciated.. thanks

Make sure when you talk to them, you always use their name. For instance, when their talking is a bit more advanced, twin A says, holding a spoon

“What is that?”

And you say

“A spoon!”

Twin B, holding a biscuit will get confused! It takes twins longer to learn to talk!

The key to twins ime is to keep them together in a routine as far as possible and be very organised!

they are either mobile or shortly will be
a play pen is a great thing. Make sure a small selection of highly desirable toys can only be played with IN the play pen- makes it easier to leave one baby in there while you dress/change whatever the other baby
lots of stairgates- at the bottom of the stairs, at the top of the stairs, at the kitchen door, at their bedroom door.
Once they are toddling, I think until they are about 3 is very hard, I found it almost impossible to go out alone and let them out of the buggy, as they would run n opposite directions. Scout out some parks that have a fenced off section.
Feeding- I would put finger food in front of each twin and then spoon feed from a single bowl for both of them until they could manage to feed themselves.
I guess a lot will depend on what they are used to though
One bonus may be that they have each other, so any distress at seperation is mitigated somewhat.

I think there is a multiples board here, have a look there!

Tamba (twins and multiple births association) may be able to help, they have a helpline and other information that may be relevant to your situation.

Seek all support available from your sw or agency, and access fostering network or adoption uk (as longterm fostering) for support and advice. Practically speaking pp advice on holding playpen good, also ensure you have an easy to maneouvre double buggy, and check out twins groups in your area. Sleep will be key to managing your own needs, so whoever is doing handover, ensure you get all.information about how best to settle. Age and stage they're at try to keep as much ths same as you can for their awareness, e.g. soap powder, lullabies, songs, tv shows - to help the transition. Congratulations! What an exciting time. Good luck.

Look up your local twins club. Ours was a lifesaver and I'veade lasting friends x

I'm just at the beginning of my fostering journey, it's something I've been considering for a long time but my h refused, as he's no longer a consideration I'm going ahead. But there's so many agencies, who do I pick? My local authority are very keen for me to go on their books and basically want to fast track me and are offering a small remuneration on top of their standard allowance (because of sen experience) but the private agencies are offering substantially more and guaranteed respite but is there a catch? Nobody fosters for just the money but I need to be able to pay bills and if I'm paid more the kid(s) get more of course and potentially I can quit my pt job (though prefer not to as it's super flexible). Any advice gratefully received! Btw is asd/mh issues teens I would be expected to have, my dd (adult) has trained me well in dealing with this!

I do it through my local authority but that's because I stepped in to take my niece on as she would of been taken into care cause her mother was a waster and her dad (my brother) had terminal cancer so he couldn't look after her it was a long and gruelling process but I got through it. I must admit the money is not great and I have been told I could get 3x as much through private agency's but that's not how it's all worked out for me all I can say is do what's best for u cause u are doing a amazing thing 🙂

I’m surprised they’re talking about long term foster care for babies. Why are they not looking to have them adopted?

They are putting them with me with the option of adoption at a later date it's complicated with the family I think

Reins are a lifesaver, make sure everything is secure and baby proofed. Twins can be twice as able to get things. Make sure heavy furniture is secured to the wall.

What you are offering is amazing.

ITA - twins are able to cooperate far earlier than ordinary siblings because of their close relationship, so one will hold a stool while the other stands on it to get something! When they go quiet is the time to watch out for, because they are doing something dangerous!