As a foster parent, you will be responsible for the child you’re caring for. Now, while this can be a gratifying experience, it doesn’t come without its challenges – after all, you’ll often find yourself providing support to a vulnerable child who may have come from a problematic home environment. To help ensure that you are well prepared, we’ve listed some of the challenges typically faced by foster parents below.
1. Going through the application process
Before becoming a foster parent, you will need to see whether you are eligible and meet the necessary criteria. This includes meeting several requirements such as:
- Having a spare bedroom
- Being in good health
- Being 21 years or older
- Having sufficient time to care for a child
- Being a full-time UK resident
Now, meeting the criteria is only the first step. After that, you’ll need to submit an application, undergo home visits, complete assessments, obtain a DBS Check, attend training and more. Once this has successfully been completed, you’ll start fostering.
2. Dealing with challenging behaviours
Many foster children come from difficult backgrounds where they may have been abused, neglected, abandoned or experienced other forms of trauma. This can result in children displaying antisocial or violent behaviour, which you as a foster parent must deal with.
As a carer, you must remember the reasons that may have contributed to this behaviour and be as patient as possible with them. Luckily, your training will teach you various techniques that you can use to manage challenging behaviour.
3. Being in contact with biological parents
At the end of the day, foster care aims to reunite a child with their bith parents if it is safe to do so. So, naturally, you will often find yourself in contact with biological family members.
The relationship between foster carer and biological parent can be a challenging one, especially if the parents are resistant to help. However, it’s important to keep in mind the benefits it can have for the foster child. Again, you will always have the support and guidance of a supervising social worker.
DBS Checks & Criminal Record Checks
4. Managing your own time
As a foster carer, you’ll have to give a significant amount of your time and energy to the children you’re looking after. This can be difficult to manage alongside your personal life and responsibilities, which can result in burnout. However, you will always have a supervising social worker there to support you.
5. Educational issues
Foster children often come from difficult backgrounds where they may not have been encouraged to take their education seriously. Due to this, a foster child might struggle with the idea of going to school or even the daily routine that comes with attending school. Additionally, they may get into trouble if they have difficulty accepting authority.
As a foster parent, you should keep in mind the issues that may have contributed to the way a child handles schooling and try to provide support and guidance to them where possible.
Ready To Become A Foster Parent?
From behavioural challenges to managing burnout, being a foster parent does not come without its challenges. However, you’ll always have the support of your social worker, and, of course, the rewards and positive impact you could have on a foster child’s life will more than makeup for any difficulties you may go through.
