What age group and what type of fostering?

[6OfUsAndCounting]

What are your reasons for choosing the type of fostering that you've chosen (respite/short term/long term etc).

What is your preferred age group and why?

Hi there, we are short term foster carers and have a preference of 0-5. The reasons for the age range is this is where my skill set is best, I particularly enjoy the teaching and development of this age range and it also fits in with our own children as it doesn't impact on their 'place' in the family. We have always said we would consider long term to the right children that we have cared for but so far they have all been adopted or gone back to parents. (Except for the bubba we have in placement that we are adopting ourselves) 😁

Thanks for replying Kyriesmum1. What age are your birth children? Had you always planned to adopt the baby you have now or did they come to you as a foster placement? Do you work for LA or IFA?

Hiya, my birth children are aged 17,15 and 12 but have been fostering 4 years now.

We foster through LA as when researching we found that we were more likely to get placements in the preferred age range with LA than IFA.

Never planned to adopt by fostered this baby from 18 hours old and we can't let her go! She's not our first baby either!

Are you planning on fostering? X

Yes, we are. Maybe just respite to begin with.

We did respite to start with as that was all that was about but we wanted a child we could really invest in after only having the children for very short periods of time! I got upset a few times when carers handed the children to me stating that they all (sibling group of 3 aged 1-5) went to bed at 6pm lights off door closed. Now as a parent that went against my natural instincts to give them one to one time and a bedtime story and I had to change their bedtime routine to do this. Their SW told me they thrives in the two weeks they were with us and having our own placement that we can bring on and help is an amazing feeling. If you are worried about how you will manage it may be worth asking for a single placement. We've had two placements that have lasted around 15 months and seeing the difference in the children from when they first came to us is incredible x

Thanks for all of the advice! That's awful that the kids were all made to go to bed with no flexibility. I really hope we can make a difference too.

We prefer short term as there is always an end in sight when we can have a month or two off ! We see our job as to provide some stability and reassurance while courts are sorting out whether children will go back home or long term fostered etc. Primary school age preferred so as to avoid issues of social media, porn, hormones etc ! Having said that I know other foster carers who prefer the independence of teenagers so each to their own.

Hi, check out UK Fostering website
ukfostering.org.uk/

I do short term for 1 x 0-18 (my speciality is 0-5 though and would turn down a teen because we live in a completely unsuitable area for teens) + one baby + one LINK child. I have a background in complex health care and special school education so have a lot of the skills required for looking after children with complex health needs or children with developmental delay. We are an older couple (in our late 50s), all of our own children are grown up and have left home. I was fostered as a child myself and it wasn't a pleasant time for me, we were treated very much as outsiders whereas the children we foster are very much part of our family.