A father in a local foster family has spoken about how his children have been brilliant at helping new foster children to settle into their new home.
He was speaking during Sons and Daughters Month, which is being celebrated by Sefton Council and the many foster families in the borough this October.
This is an annual campaign to recognise how children of foster carers play a vital role in helping young people in care feel welcomed and part of their family.
Paul is one of the local dedicated foster carers. He and his wife Angela have three children, work full time and have been fostering for Sefton for three years. Paul wanted to share his heart-warming experience about how his children have really embraced foster care.
He said: “When we were considering fostering, one of the main things we wanted to ensure was that it was going to be the right thing for our own children as well as any children we looked after.
“We have three birth children, boys aged 7, 13 and 15.
“We involved them at every stage of the assessment process and still continue to. Before we take on any new children we sit down as a family and discuss who might be coming to our home. To us we are not just foster parents we are a Foster Family.
“Here we are now, three years in and I can honestly say that all of the children we have looked after have enhanced our family and that is by a large part due to our sons welcoming new children into our home and looking after them in their own small ways that have made such a huge difference.
“Our older children play football in the garden and our younger child plays with them with his toys and games. This really has helped the fostered children settle in much quicker. It has also helped our sons too, with their confidence and sense of pride, particularly our youngest who is proud to say he is part of a foster family.
“It is so important to involve your birth children as it affects them in a huge way too. They sacrifice a lot, sharing not only their toys, but their parents too. For this reason, Sons and Daughters week is one of the biggest weeks in the year for Foster families.
“Thank you to all of the sons and daughters of all of the foster families for the fantastic work and sacrifice you make.”
Sefton’s Foster Carers receive full training and support, plus payments for their skills and allowances. Anyone who is thinking about fostering can find out more by speaking to one of the team. Get in touch on the freephone number 0800 923 2777
People can also find out more on the Sefton fostering dedicated website https://seftonfostering.co.uk/
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