Fostering is a fantastic thing to do, both for children in need of a loving and supportive home and your own family. Many foster parents go on to foster multiple children, forming loving, and lasting relationships with huge benefits to everyone involved. If you are interested in becoming a successful foster parent, there are some skills that you need. Mastering them before your first placement can help to ease the process and give you the chance to enjoy fostering from the very beginning. Here’s a look at some of them. 

Self-Awareness

You know that you want to foster and that you want to help children, but you must know your limits? Could you foster babies? Teenagers? Children with additional needs? Do you have the patience and time needed to look after a disabled child? Is your home suitable? Do you have a strong support network? Knowing your limits, and being aware of what you are capable of, will help you to be a great foster carer. If you feel like you could foster children with additional needs, get help from an agency like Fostering People, at fosteringpeople.co.uk.

Patience

Few foster children will arrive at your home and feel settled straight away. Some will take longer to adjust and feel comfortable than others, but this is never a process that you can rush. While you might be keen to start having fun with them, you’ll need to be patient, go at their pace, and give them space. Patience is a core skill for all foster carers. 

Organisation

Parenting is often about juggling different balls, and foster caring is no different. If anything, with associated appointments, meetings, and paperwork, it can be even more of a challenge. As soon as you start to think about fostering, improve your organisation skills to make the application process easier, and prepare yourself for the challenges to come. 

Empathy

Sympathy is great, it’s something that most of us have, and it’s easy to feel sympathetic towards a child that’s come from a difficult background. But empathy is different. When you are empathetic you don’t simply feel sorry for someone, you understand them. This is a crucial skill if you want to help multiple children with different needs. 

Conflict Resolution

Being able to problem-solve, and resolve conflicts is another key skill that can make fostering much easier. As a foster parent, you need to be open-minded, and ready to advocate for the children in your care, no matter what. You might have to resolve conflicts with the child, but also on their behalf, perhaps dealing with professionals like teachers and social workers, while keeping the child’s best interests in mind. 

Kindness

Kindness is such an important and underrated skill. Being kind can make life easier, for you and the people around you. Practice being kind in your day-to-day life with small acts throughout the day.

Before you take the next step on your fostering journey, look at your skill set. Ask yourself if you have all of these skills, and look for ways that you can improve them.