“Every baby deserves a parent, I’m giving the parents that chance.”
Parent and baby fostering, also known as parent and child fostering, is a specialist type of fostering where a parent and their baby, comes to stay with a carer at a time when they need extra support.
Carol, from Seacombe, has been supporting parent and child placements for 17 years in Wirral. She’s a single carer, with her own adult children and she has a background in childcare and nursery settings.
Parent and child placements can support all kinds of parents, for all kinds of reasons.
Carol said:
When I first started, I thought it would just be young mums but I’ve worked with all ages – the oldest was in her late 30s. I’ve also supported a few dads too.
Each family has a different reason for being here. Some are proving to social services that they can cope with parenting, some struggle to look after themselves while caring for a child. One mum I supported had broken her leg and needed temporary support until she was back on her feet.
Over the years, Carol has supported around 40 families. They can live with her for up to 18 months, depending on their individual needs.
Carol said:
Whatever they need, they come to me, they settle in. We build that trust. Whatever they’re going through, I’m not here to judge them. I’m just here for that parent and that child. If they’re going to a contact centre, I can help with that too. I even supported one mum at the birth of her child.
It’s important to Carol to give parents a chance to be the parent they want to be.
Carol said:
I think of it like this: not every parent deserves a baby but every baby deserves a parent. Parent and baby placements give the parent that chance to step up and prove themselves. Thanks to the safe environment, there are so many success stories, the rewards are great. That’s what I love.
And even when it doesn’t work out, I think it can help the children with closure in the future. They’ll be able to see from their records that their parents tried their best.
The experience has been life-altering for Carol. She’d recommend it to anyone who was thinking about fostering.
Carol said:
I’ve had a lovely, amazing life through this. I’ve met so many people and I’ve had experiences that I wouldn’t have had in normal every day life, I love it.
You meet and mix with other foster carers – so you don’t feel like you’re on your own. It’s brought me a whole life – I’m on my own, but I have company and learn new skills from these people too – it’s two way. We’ve each learned something about life.
Wirral Council is part of Foster4 Cheshire and Merseyside a collaborative fostering recruitment hub in the Northwest.
The friendly @Foster4 team are popping up in several locations across Wirral this month. Find them at any of these locations to learn more about becoming a foster carer:
- 18 June - 9.30-10.30am - The Coffee House Liscard
- 18 June - 11-12.30am - Tesco Heswall
- 18 June - 1.30-3pm - Williamson Art Gallery
- 18 June - 4-6pm - The Oval Leisure Centre
- 25 June - 10.30-12pm - Asda Liscard
- 25 June - 1-4pm - Wirral Change, Birkenhead
- 26 June - 12.30-2pm - St Catherine’s Health Centre, Birkenhead
- 26 June - 3-4.30pm - Guinea Gap Leisure Centre
If you’d like to find out more about fostering, visit the Foster4 website.
