If you’re a caring, compassionate person who loves children, then a role as a foster carer may be perfect for you. To find out some of the benefits of this role and why you should look into it further, keep reading below:
1. Opportunity to Transform a Child’s Life
Fostering a child from a fostering agency like fcascotland.co.uk gives you the opportunity to transform a child’s life. With the support of a foster agency, foster families provide foster children with the support, guidance, love and care they need to go on to live happy and healthy lives.
2. It’s a Fulfilling Role
Most foster carers state that being a foster carer is a highly fulfilling role. This role allows you to see your impact on a child’s life. You can reflect on how your foster child was when they arrived, to how they are once they spent a few weeks with you. Seeing the progress they have made is extremely rewarding.
3. It Can Benefit the Whole Family
It’s not just foster carers who can benefit from this role; the entire family can. If we take your own children as an example, living with a foster child can help them become more understanding, compassionate and empathetic. On top of this, they can also form long-lasting friendships.
4. You Can Develop Lifelong Bonds
Even if you only foster for a brief period, you’ll leave an enormous impression on that young person’s life. In many cases, the relationships between a foster carer and a foster child become so strong that they carry over into adulthood. It is common for foster children to stay connected with their foster carers when they’ve grown up and had their own families.
5. Opportunity to Gain New Skills
Even if you’ve had children of your own, there are still skills you can learn. In fact, foster carers are given the opportunity to learn lots of new skills and earn qualifications. For example, you can learn about dealing with medical issues or children’s psychological behaviour.
6. Build a New Circle of Friends
Most fostering agencies organise events and activities for their foster carers. This allows them to get to know other foster carers, discuss problems they may be experiencing and build a new circle of friends. These important and strong bonds help enhance your fostering experience even more.
7. You Will Receive a Fostering Allowance
Although no one goes into fostering for the money, it is worth mentioning that one of the benefits of fostering is a fostering allowance. Most foster agencies offer weekly allowances of between £499 and £659. This money can help care for the child in your care.
8. Access to Discount Schemes
Becoming a foster carer gives you access to several different discount schemes, such as the Blue Light Scheme. Once accepted into these schemes, you will receive discounts on things like food and entertainment.
As you can see from the article above, becoming a foster carer has many benefits. Not only is it an extremely rewarding role, but it allows you to learn new skills and develop lifelong bonds. Why not find out more about how this role can benefit you?