Yahoo News ‘The pride we feel watching children in our care grow is the most amazing thing’ - Hull dads open their hearts and their home
A Hull couple have shared the joy they feel at being dads to five children as they aim to encourage others to offer a loving home to a child who needs it.
Stewart and Lee, who are married and dads to both adopted and fostered children aged two to 16, have spoken about the emotional and practical considerations of caring for youngsters, during Foster Care Fortnight, which runs until Sunday, May 26. The dads have spoken about how the fostering journey has become a “family affair” and about the vital research they did when first entering into the process.
Both men felt fostering was a way that they could give back to the community and make a difference to the lives of children and young people. As foster carers, they have the skills and compassion to help vulnerable children, whether that means helping them ultimately reunite with their biological families or find a new forever home.
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Lee said: “It was important that our families were part of the process and that they were happy and on board because they've got to deal with the emotion too. Not just the emotions involved in children coming into our care, but children moving on. It's a whole family process for us, it's not just the two of us.
“To see our children interact with any children we've got in our care and take them under their wing and just treat them like they are any other sibling is wonderful and it's amazing to see.” When it comes to the favourite parts of being a foster carer, highlights include seeing foster children’s unconventional “firsts”.
“Our foster son pretty much lived on chicken nuggets and chips so the first time we took him to a Chinese restaurant it just blew his mind,” said Lee. “He’s now an absolute fiend for duck wraps.”
He continued: “Also things like his first Halloween, he's seven and up until last year he'd never been out trick or treating. Those simple things that we've always taken for granted, things that are our everyday. Some of these children haven't experienced those firsts and it’s great to be on this journey with them.”
Stewart said: “If fostering is ‘just a job’ then it’s the best job in the world. We get to watch them grow, develop and become the people that they were meant to be, rather than them being defined by whatever issue caused them to have a rough start in life. The pride we feel watching children in our care grow is the most amazing thing.”
Lee and Stewart chose to foster through The Foster Care Charity after doing a lot of research and being reassured by its extensive training programmes. “We looked at the whole package, especially the support and the training and went with The Foster Care Charity because the training package is huge,” they said.
They also explained that the matching process was extremely thorough, something that they were very grateful for. “Obviously they don’t want the placement to break down. We don’t want the placement to break down. They want the best for everybody and we want that child to be able to thrive with us,” said Stewart.
The Foster Care Charity was established 25 years ago. The agency’s network of foster families provide safe, nurturing home environments for vulnerable children across Yorkshire as well as the central Midlands, Eastern counties, southwest and northwest of England.
