Who are foster children?
Who are foster children?
Children and adolescents may need Foster care for a variety of reasons; they have been harmed, or may have been at risk of harm; or their natural parents or guardians may not be able to care for them.
Each child is unique.
Foster children range in age from infancy to age 18, and come from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds. The children and young people are going through troubled times and need care, protection and support.
Harm
The kind of harm a child may have experienced may include sexual, physical or emotional abuse, abandonment or chronic neglect. Many have had few role models and little encouragement to succeed.
Betrayal
In most cases, these young people have been betrayed by adults therefore they are sometimes unwilling or unable to trust adults for fear of more rejection.
Child carers
Some children and young people in care have taken on caring for siblings and sometimes a parent. Many have experienced a lost and unhappy childhood.
They are 'all our children' and they deserve the best society can provide to keep them safe. Fostering is the best known alternative.
Fostering teenagers
A significant number of children who need foster carers at present are older children, both girls and boys.
Most of these children will have had difficulties in their relationships at home and may have been the subject of neglect and abuse.
They come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, including unaccompanied minors, whose first language is not English and whom may need support and help in adjusting to living in a new country.
Although fostering teenagers has its own unique challenges, it can also be incredibly rewarding.
Knowing you have helped a teenager overcome their problems and return to their family, or find their feet and make their way in the world, is something you will never forget.
There are four main types of abuse:
Mother and baby placements
There is ample evidence that suggests that babies who did not have the opportunity for attachment to their mothers were often negatively effected in their self esteem and ability to make positive relationships with others, often throughout their lives. More...
Physical - when parents or other adults deliberately injure a child or do nothing to prevent it. This not only includes physical violence but also giving children alcohol or drugs. The most serious cases can result in brain damage and even death.
Emotional - when parents continuously fail to show love and affection to a child. This might include sarcasm, threats, criticism, yelling and taunting. The effects are serious and long-lasting.
Neglect - when parents fail to meet a child's basic needs for food, warmth, clothing or medical attention. Neglected children may be very withdrawn or very aggressive, and can develop health problems or have difficulty coping at school.
Sexual - when an adult, or sometimes an older child, uses a child for sexual gratification. This might mean forcing a child to carry out sexual acts, or deliberately showing a child adult pornographic videos or magazines, and filming or photographing children in a sexual way. Both boys and girls are sexually abused, and it can happen to very young children - even babies - as well as older ones. The effects of sexual abuse are enduring and highly damaging. Some children who are abused in this way may go on to become abusers themselves.
Children with special needs
Some children have special needs because
of a learning difficulty or different physical ability. Their needs will depend on their specific condition. Caring for a child with a serious disability is often a demanding task. More...
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Editorial
The Government recommend that people interested in caring for children should contact more than one Fostering or Adoption Agency.
