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If you have ever wondered how your involvement in Foster Care can improve the life of children in care, this article is for you. It’s a given that Foster Care improves the lives of children, but – as we’ve often seen in the past – it’s in more ways than we originally think. So, in no particular order, here are some of the ways in which we’ve seen foster children flourish and thrive after receiving foster care. 1. It can remove them from neglectful, abusive or other risky environments One of the primary benefits of fostering is that it often removes children from environments where they either are at risk of harm or sometimes actually experiencing harm. Removing them from this situation brings an opportunity for change and rehabilitation and a whole host of other benefits... 2. It can create positive associations with the word ‘home’ If children are brought up in a negative environment, then it’s likely that they aren’t going to associate ‘home’ with anything positive. Foster care can help to reverse this and to help children think of safety, love and care when they think about home – as children should. 3. It breaks the cycle of bad parenting If brought up in a negative environment, it can be difficult for children to know any better if they go on to have children themselves. Being part of a loving foster family helps to break this heart-wrenching cycle of bad parenting, and helps to build more caring families in the future. Children begin to trust adults again and reconnect with the people who can help them develop into valuable adults themselves. The value of good foster care can go on and on into the future. 4. It helps children to avoid substance abuse It’s been shown that children brought up in a negative family setting are more likely to experiment with substance abuse at an earlier age than those who aren’t. Further, substance abuse leads to crime and exclusion from society which are further negative cycles that are more likely to be avoided. A foster carer will help to steer children on the right track. 5. It boosts confidence Being surrounded by any sort of negativity has a detrimental effect on your confidence – even more so if that negativity is coming from your family. Foster care helps children to develop a healthy amount of confidence, which is essential for developing the skills and resources needed to deal with everyday life. 6. Positive role models help a child to develop In a similar vein, foster care helps children in all kinds of ways during the most important developmental period of their lives. Their bodies, minds, and emotions are still sorting themselves out, so the nature of their upbringing during this time is going to massively affect their future selves – for better or for worse. 7. It increases the value of education Children living in unfavourable circumstances are likely to focus less on their education, and may even skip classes or drop out. Good foster care helps a child to see the joy and value of education again. Often, birth children in the foster family make good role models here. 8. It allows them to enjoy their childhood Everybody knows that children should make the most of their childhood – but it’s often easier said than done when living in negative circumstances. Thankfully, foster care provides children with the stability they need so that they can concentrate on being a child again – the time flies by, after all! 9. It gives them unconditional love One of the most rewarding benefits of foster care, of course, is that the child will now be receiving unconditional love, which they may not have had before. The benefits of unconditional love from a parent are endless - it's what every child deserves. 10. They often go on to become foster carers themselves It’s often found that children have benefitted so much from their time in foster care, that they go on to become a foster carer themselves. With all of the benefits above in mind, we can’t say we blame them! So, that’s just ten things a child in care can benefit from Independent Fostering Agency, we have many more stories with many more benefits to share. Synergy Fostering specialise in providing training and support to help people fostering provide care that benefits children and often their own families as well!
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