What Personal Qualities Do You Need to Foster?

Foster children are all different and come from many different backgrounds and it is important that foster carers do too. At Fostering Rotherham we know that great foster carers come in all shapes and sizes and have lots of different types of qualifications and life experiences. However, the most important thing is that they have the qualities that help ensure a foster child or young person enjoys a happy and fulfilling life.

Foster children depend on you to create stability in their life and being honest and reliable are fundamental for their security and growth.

Patience and Understanding

In many cases, the children placed with you may have had an unsettled start to life. As such, it is important that you can provide honest and reliable care. Foster carers are often supporting children who are in a vulnerable situation and it takes someone with good patience and understanding to be able to provide them with a positive environment to thrive in.

Honesty and Reliability

In some cases, a child  in your care may have experienced chaotic or an unstable home environment. Foster children depend on you to create stability in their life and being honest and reliable are fundamental for their security and growth.

Self-Care

Although caring for a foster child is an altruistic act, it is vital that you can look after your own emotional and physical wellbeing to be able to do the same for another person. We all have challenges, stresses and strains in our lives and it is important that as a foster carer, you can manage these to be able to provide a calm and stable environment for both you and your foster child. 

Perseverance

In any caregiver role, professional or personal, there are times when your role can become tiring and it may feel like you need a break. While there may be respite available from your support network, it is important to have the tenacity to persevere with your commitment to your foster child. Perseverance through tougher times will really show your foster child how committed and invested you are in their future and will help create a strong bond and a fulfilling and engaging relationship. 

Interpersonal Skills

In most areas of life, strong communication skills are necessary and the ability to deal with a range of people can be hugely beneficial to a foster carer. Aside from being able to communicate effectively with your foster child, you will need to be able to communicate regularly with others such as your social worker, the child’s school and other foster carers in your network. This doesn’t apply to just the foster child, but also potentially the birth parents depending on the circumstances. 

Our foster children are all unique and have different needs, that’s one of the things that makes being a foster carer so special. They all share one thing though, that they need a safe and supportive home. With help from our team, our foster carers know that they’re giving foster children the opportunities they deserve, and playing a vital role in their lives.