Emma and Cameron's foster care story
Reflections
Are you curious to know what it’s like to be a foster carer? Emma and Cameron, a young couple from the Gold Coast, share what it’s like to open their doors to young people in need
Emma — Foster carer
My mum was adopted. Someone gave her a chance to do something with her life, and I was also inspired to give back.
We’re energetic individuals and we like to do fun things on the weekend. With the children we care for, we’re able to keep up and run around with them. It’s great because we’re big kids ourselves. We want to be able to give them experiences that they might not otherwise be able to have.
Fostering can certainly have its challenges, but at the end of the day it is so rewarding to see the growth of each child and know that you’ve been able to help them. Overall, we’ve been grateful that we’ve had some good experiences.
Our first placement was a weekend placement. It was a nice and easy transition and Anglicare was really good. They just wanted to set us up for success.
Our case worker is really supportive, and we know that we can contact them at any time for assistance.
How you deal with a foster child’s behaviour is very different to how you’d deal with it if it was your own child. Some kids don’t understand boundaries, so you need to work with them to overcome that. But you usually see them thrive after they see rules put in place.
Cameron — Foster carer
The rewards of being a foster carer outweighs the challenges. We had a little girl stay with us for a few months and she was struggling. She had a lot of things going on, and you could see that in some of the behaviours she was displaying at home and at school.
We worked with her to develop a routine and learn how to start processing things in a healthier way. I just hope that she remembers those conversations if she does find herself in a tough situation again.
It’s humbling to know the impact we can have on a young person’s life. Even teaching simple life skills can have a huge impact on these young kids.
First published on the Anglicare Southern Queensland website.
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