Becoming foster carers has fulfilled our life. We considered going down the foster care path for a while. We had so much love to give. We wanted to share it with children who needed it. Then, one day, we took the plunge and made the first phone call to CareSouth.
It felt like we were jumping into the deep end. We were nervous. During our initial conversations with CareSouth, we worried about how we would be perceived. The nerves washed away when we met their recruitment team and started connecting with other carers during training. Everything was falling into place. We were building our family, with the children coming into our care, as well as the CareSouth team and fellow carers who were becoming part of our extended family.
We got authorised for all types of foster care. The first child we ever fostered was a young boy. After a short time with us, he was able to be restored with his birth family. While he was with us, we also did respite and emergency care for other children.
Our lives changed forever when we started caring for a baby boy, who is still with us to this day. He will start pre-school this year.
A few years ago, we got asked to care for another baby boy. He was only six days old at the time. We only had two days’ notice to get prepared. CareSouth made sure we had everything we needed, like a car seat, cot, formula and nappies. We are so thankful to have both these boys in our lives. I cannot imagine my life without them in it. It’s comforting to know we have so much support behind us from CareSouth. We have two brilliant caseworkers who we lean on for help and advice.
The cost-of-living has become quite expensive, but we manage. Love and affection are the most important things that we can give the children. We believe that you can fulfil a child’s life without having a huge income behind you. We create memories every day that don’t require any money.
We budget to make sure we can cover the essentials. The carer allowance we receive helps us make extra special memories with the boys. We use it to go on family trips to the zoo or buy them treats when we go to the shopping centre. It’s about the little things. Days spent together or small gestures are made special by the people and the love, not by the amount of money spent.
A newborn girl recently came into our care. The boys are smitten by her. They love helping us take care of her, with the oldest one recently learning how to help prepare her formula. We’ve never looked back since becoming foster carers. It brings us so much joy to see smiles on the children’s faces. It warms out hearts to have the love we give be reciprocated back to us by the children.
