It’s the most beautiful thing in life you can do

• Fostering Stories
• Tags: Fostering siblings , Single foster carer

Safinah started fostering in September 2022.  She gave us an insight into what caring for 3- and 6-year-old siblings has been like so far!

What brought you to fostering

It was always in my heart to help young children and I felt like I wanted to do more in life and I had something extra to give. So, I made a call and it just happened so fast!  The months flew by and before I knew it, I was a fully approved foster carer looking after three- and six-year-old siblings. 

Panel (approval) day was the best!  You don’t know how good you feel when everyone passes you and tells you why they think you’ll make a good foster carer!

How it started

The training is thorough and prepares you for a lot.  After the first few weeks of getting used to life changing completely, everything slowly started to fall in place and the kids have settled well.  When they first arrived, they were really excited and overactive, but now we’re used to each other, and we’ve developed some great routines.

• “When they go to visit their Auntie, she says they always want to come back to me and that she prayed for someone like me!” Safinah

What difference have you noticed?

My boy is a lot calmer and listens to me now and my girl is much chattier. She no longer has her dummies, or a bottle and her speech has come along so well.  They are like different kids.  They are both very confident now.

Initially my 9-year-old son was a little overwhelmed with all the attention and questions from the children but now he loves having them here.

Hopes for the future

We sing a song called ‘Here’ by Tom Grennan because I want them to know that I’m here for them and they have people who care about them.  I don’t want them to struggle any more, and I want them to realise they can do anything in life if they believe in themselves.

They’ve enjoyed trying new things like swimming, Karate lessons and holiday camps.

The Rewards

It is a really demanding role but when I see them settled in bed at night, I always say that’s another day in their life they’ve been settled and their happy.  We have a lot of laughs together and I look back at the day and think wow, I’ve done that! 

It’s the biggest achievement of my life.  I felt like I wanted to do something extra in life and I’ve done it now and I want to continue

Advice for anyone thinking of fostering

Fostering a massive commitment, but at the end of the day, if you think you can do it, it’s the most beautiful thing in life you can do.