You're
a foster mum aren't you Wendy? What exactly does that involve?
It involves taking in children, that are in care obviously, and looking
after them as you look after your own children. After that, they either
go home or go to adoptive carers.
How
long have you been doing that for?
Altogether 13 years.
How
many children have you got at the moment?
We just have the one at the moment.
And
how old are they?
He's four.
What
kind of things are you expected to do?
You've to generally care for the children. I just treat the children
like I would my own children - lots of love and care and playtimes.
A lot of the children come in like adults. We've to teach them how
to be children again.
What
would you say is the hardest thing about being a foster mum?
The hardest thing for me being a foster mum is moving the children
on. When you take the children back to their homes because you get
attached to them, well I do anyway. It doesn't get any easier, the
more children you have.
What's
the best thing about being a foster mum?
The best thing is the rewards - you know, seeing how the children
are after even just a couple of weeks, after what they've come from.
Not all of them, but a lot of the children come in in quite poor
states. Seeing them laughing and smiling and playing and doing things
that children do is just so nice for me.
What
does the child get out of the placement?
All sorts from my house! (laughs) We love the children and they
just learn to be loved which is so nice, as well and just being
a happy, peaceful environment.
What
made you decide to foster children?
Well I had my nephew 12, 13 years ago when he was five because there
was basically no one else able to have him so we took him in. Then
we moved to a bigger house and decided that this is what we'd like
to do. We got a great big six bedroom house - we may as well fill
it with chilldren!
What's
the most amount of children you've had in your home at any one time?
With my own children that would be nine.
What
was it like looking after nine kids? What was their age range?
Their age ranged from zero - newborn - to 15, 16 years. It was chaotic,
but it was wonderful. The laughter and playing games and everybody
mixing together. It was wonderful. It was hard work, but wonderful.
How
do your own kids feel when they’ve got other children in the
house?
They're fine. We do speak to the children. We do involve them and
tell them what will be happening.They love it. They get quite attached
as well, so much so that my second daugher, she's 12, and she's
always absolutely heartbroken when the children leave.
The
youngest one, she's eight, she gets a little bit jealous if you
like. Not towards me, but with Dad. You know, if anyone's sharing
her daddy she's not very happy about that.
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She's
a daddy's girl?
Oh yeah (laughs) absolutely!
How
do they feel about being in the same home as Gareth Gates?
They all love it. They get really excited and all leave really big
fans of Gareth! Some girls that we used to look after, they've just
got Gareth Gates posters all in their bedrooms now!
Are
you able to keep in contact with the children once they've gone?
We do some of the children. Some parents like to forget that part
of their life.
Although
I tend to warm to the parents as well. I don't just take the children
on, I also take the parents and so there are quite a few parents
whose children I've fostered that I've become firm friends with.
We've
only had one or two whose parents have wanted to forget that part
of their life, but the rest of them we do keep in touch.
Have
any parents been hostile to you and felt like you were taking over?
No, not really. The parents have just been so thankful, the ones
that have wanted the children back have been so thankful that we
have cared for them for them.
What's
your message to people who are thinking about fostering?
Go for it. It’s absolutely fanatstic. I don't class it as a
job. It's very rewarding. Just go for it!
We
do need more foster carers because these children that cannot go
into foster homes, go into children's homes. Although care homes
these days are nice, it's nicer to go to a family.
Is
there a certain type of person to be a foster parent?
You certainly don't need any qualifications, just general life skills,
child care. You can be single, you can be married, you can be black,
you can be white. You can have children of your own or no children.
People from all walks of life are needed for foster carers.
Do
you need lots of money to look after these children?
Not at all, you do get help. You don't have to do it on your own.
Even if you are on benefits, you can still be a foster parent.
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