Hi, I'm Audrey
This is my fostering story
Audrey from Fife has been a foster carer with Swiis since 2011. Audrey spoke to us about her fostering story.
Audrey’s fostering journey in numbers
“One of my favourite things about being a foster carer is seeing the child you are looking after blossom. Seeing him developing into a confident boy right in front of your eyes. ”
“I became a foster carer with Swiis six years ago after I watched my daughter foster with Swiis, I felt a bit jealous of the bond she had?……and thought I too can make a difference.
When I was young, mum would always take in other children as we were growing up and I suppose her caring nature would have impacted my choice to foster.
As I got my first placement I remember feeling a bit scared as
I wasn’t sure what to expect because of the child’s disabilities but felt very excited at the same time. However, instantly it was just really good to get to know the new person in your life.
When he arrived, he brought a lovely photo album of the family that had looked after him, I thought that was nice. We quite often look through the photo album, looking back at his life because you can’t just not talk about them. They were part of his life and it’s important to acknowledge that.
He was initially very anxious but took it in his stride. This, however, for me didn’t feel quite natural, it worried me that he hadn’t had an emotional response to leaving the family that had cared for him for three years. This concerned me as I was expecting to see him upset, he didn’t show it on the outside, but I knew he must be feeling something he just wasn’t ready to let go of it just yet.
He did eventually have an outburst which was difficult to see because you could see how anxious it made him. Having the outburst allowed him to release the anger and frustration he felt about moving and leaving the family he had been staying with. Once he had the outburst he became much happier and was able to start moving on.
When children in care come to stay with you, you will be aware of their past and some of the things they have experienced might be hard to hear but I find what’s important, when I’m presented with information that I might find difficult, is to remind myself that “it’s not going to happen again”; our family motto is that “nobody hurts anybody”.
What I think is important to the little boy we are fostering at the moment is that we are a forever family and we all stick together. Our very own favourite thing that’s ours is at that at night when he goes to bed, I’ll give him a hug and tell him that I love him and I’ll always remind him that if we’ve had a bad day today we will have a better day tomorrow and that moment is ours.
One of my favourite things about being a foster carer is seeing the child you are looking after blossom. Seeing him developing into a confident boy right in front of your eyes.
I feel there is always room in a family for someone else and knowing that you are making a difference makes me really pleased and want to continue fostering.
My tip for anyone new to fostering is, don’t take life too seriously. Pick your battles and learn to laugh a lot because if you don’t laugh about it, then you have taken it too seriously and you won’t get through the next day.
To anyone considering fostering but unsure if it’s for them, I would advise them to start with respite care and see if fostering is for them.”
If Audrey’s fostering story has inspired you, speak to someone in our team about becoming a foster carer. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you have – big or small!
Start Your Fostering Journey
With thousands of children coming into foster care in the UK everyday, we urgently need foster carers more than ever.
Refer a Friend
Do you know anyone who would be a fantastic foster carer who has the skills and compassion to support a child or young person in need of a loving home?
