It can be rewarding but it’s mostly frustrating - Alex's story #SandD2015

So, fostering…I bet most people said that fostering is amazing, that the feeling of helping others is overwhelmingly congratulating but to be honest, it's nothing like that. It can be rewarding but it’s mostly frustrating. In the beginning I didn’t really understand what was going on, it was just like friends coming over for a really long sleepover but now that I’m older I understand what I’m doing so it’s a little more meaningful.

Some kids we've had in the past where a little rowdy, shall we say, but the kids now are difficult in a whole other way. In my eyes there are three different kinds of foster kids; the physically aggressive, the emotionally challenged and the altogether distant.

We've had a pair of aggressive ones when I was little and, needless to say it wasn't the best months of my life.

The distant ones are, quite obviously, distant. It was like they weren't even there, which was neither good nor bad it was just kind of normal.

The emotionally challenged ones are strange; they either don’t understand emotions or are too aggressive with them. I should know, most of our kids are emotionally challenged. They are my least favourite because I don’t understand them. Granted I don’t understand a lot of things, but they just confuse me. I don’t get how someone can’t use the most fundamental part of human existence. I mean I do understand why, either brain problems or some kind of emotional trauma, but it still confuses me.

There are good sides though. Mum met her fiancé on a fostering training course and that makes me happy. It’s a good skill to learn too; how to look after different types of children. I do plan on adopting when I’m older so the skills will help me to achieve that.

Coming to the end of my blog, I can safely say that fostering is like a rollercoaster; yes I know that the analogy is grossly overused but still, a lot of ups and downs and the occasional de-railing. But overall a pants-wettingly, hair-raisingly, scarily-fun mash up of emotions.

By Alex, 14.

Alex's blog was written as part of our Sons and Daughters Month blogging competition. Find out more about Sons and Daughters Month.