'Fostering has helped me become the person I am today'
When Henry's family started to foster he was only seven years old. Even though, at that age, he didn't quite comprehend what fostering was, he quickly learned how it was helping the children his family was caring for. Now 18, Henry works for his local authority as an ambassador for children and young people and recently won one of our Fostering Excellence Awards for his outstanding contribution to foster care.
When the children started coming to stay it was confusing at first. A lot of my parent’s time would be focused on them and I didn’t quite understand the reasons. I found it difficult sharing my parents’ time with other children I didn’t know. However, after a while I saw the brighter side of it and was making friends with the fostered children. I learned about their stories, and it really helped me to get to grips with what we were doing as a family. Seeing the children’s faces at Christmas, birthdays or days out was amazing. That is the main thing that stays in my head and these were the times where I thought what we were doing means something and is special.
Facing challenges
Outside perspectives
A team effort
The main thing I would say to other people’s parents is to always keep your child up to date, as there is nothing worse than being confused. Explain to your children why certain rules might be different for fostered children (e.g. being taken out to nice places regardless of behaviour) and it should be fine. The most important thing for me growing up was my family managed to keep our family time. We were all able to work together and help out in our own way. At the end of the day, everyone in the fostering household has a role.
Fostering has helped me to become more caring and appreciative. It has enabled me to understand how to deal with tough times and to not judge a book by its cover. It has also helped me become the person I am today.