Have you considered becoming a parent and child foster carer? This type of foster care has become increasingly common in the UK, providing valuable help and support to both parents and their children.
We’re always looking for new carers able to undertake this challenging yet rewarding role. Below you’ll discover everything you need to know about parent and child foster care to help you decide whether it is the right type of fostering for you.
There are many reasons why a parent may be struggling to cope with their child. The majority of parent and child placements do tend to involve young mothers under the age of 18 with a newborn. It can be understandably terrifying for these young mothers, especially if they do not have a strong support network of their own to rely on.
Many of these young mums are in the care system themselves and have perhaps not had the best role-models when it comes to parenting. In these circumstances, parent and child foster placements are required to help a young mother adjust and gain valuable parenting skills.
Not all placements involve a young mother and baby however. It could be a father and his child, a disabled mother or, even an older child and their parent. Parent and child fostering can be a varied role, but the one element that remains is – you would be welcoming both child and parent into your home and providing them with the necessary support depending upon the circumstances.
The ultimate goal of all foster care placements is to keep families together wherever possible. With parent and child foster care, the aim is to provide support and to educate the mother or father so that hopefully they can go on to give the best care to their child.
Parent and child foster care is one of the more short-term options available when it comes to fostering. While each placement is different, they only tend to run for about 12 weeks. So, if you’ve been thinking of fostering but you aren’t able to take on a long-term commitment, this type of fostering could be ideal.
You’re will need to be committed to provide help and support whenever it is needed, 24 hours a day. Most of the skills required will be developed during initial training, but it can help if you have your own parenting experience.
Read more about becoming a parent and child foster carer and other types of fostering, or get in touch.