‘Ups and downs but I would not change it, absolutely brilliant’
FOSTER carer Lauren grew up in a family that fosters and so for her it was natural to follow suit.
Lauren, who preferred not to use her surname, said: “I had grown up with my parents giving so much to all these children. They’ve actually fostered over 100 children in their careers as foster carers, so seeing that and being part of that it was just a natural progression into becoming a foster carer myself.
“I have never had any doubts about being a foster carer but I think sometimes it can be challenging because of that self doubt in yourself, such as are you doing the right thing for this child? Are you meeting their needs?
“I think every time I’ve felt like that its been a case of talking to my social worker and you always get reassured, which is brilliant.”
Lauren says fostering is rewarding and added: “Seeing those children who come in and very often they’ve been through a very difficult life experience so to be able to see them go from these very almost scared, very, very scared children, to being children that are being able to thrive and actually enjoy their childhood is probably the most rewarding part of fostering as a whole.
“To anyone thinking of fostering, if you feel that you can offer a child some security and some love, it’s paramount for these children. If you feel you have that to give, do it. Simple as that
“I’ve had huge support, absolutely huge support from Derby City Council in so many different aspects. From the fostering side of things, the entire process all the way through we’ve had a really good network of social workers and social worker teams.
“We’ve found that every social worker we’ve had we’ve had a really good relationship with so they know us really well and we know them and we feel comfortable with them.
“We’ve had an amazing amount of support with the training opportunities they give us. For me, I went through a massive life change: I came out as gay, which was a huge life change at the age of 36, and the support the department gave me was just unbelievable.
“With fostering, you get your ups and you get your downs but I wouldn’t change it, absolutely brilliant.”