If you love kids, want kids, and are ready to be a parent, you are accepting that you are ready for your entire life to change. Going in with eyes wide open can make the entire experience easier and more rewarding, regardless of what type of parenting you are considering.
Types of parenting
Having your own biological child is not the only way to be a parent. Fostering can be just as rewarding, particularly for those who were in the foster system themselves, those that can’t or don’t want their own biological children, and those who want a large family and are happy to open their home to children in need.
Understand what you are getting into
By understanding what you want to get out of parenting, and what you are ready for, you can start your parenting journey right.
You may not be ready to become a full-time parent, and that’s okay. You can instead look into emergency, short-term, or respite fostering to start with. While you should be committed to the children in your charge, these short-term fostering options are more manageable to start. If you are interested in fostering, either as a starting point or as a vocation, visit fosterplus.co.uk to learn more.
Later on in life you may want to become a parent to your own child, or a full-time foster parent. Whatever journey you take is up to you. Knowing your limits and what you can offer makes a massive difference to the outcome of your parenting success.
Prepare financially
Financial planning is a must when it comes to parenting. Budget out what your costs should be and work out what discounts or other credits you can apply for to help you manage the load. Never go into parenting or fostering with the mindset that you will just make it work. Understand how you will make it work – even if you are fostering and receive financial compensation to help you cover the costs.
Establish a strong support network
Parenting and foster parenting requires a significant amount of emotional labour. It can therefore become very stressful, and your own mental health can take a turn. Just as the kids in your care need a strong support system to feel safe, so do you – so establish said network in advance.
Be prepared to learn
You can have a degree in childcare and still be learning every day that you are a parent or foster parent. Not only will you need to adjust your approach to suit the child individually, but you will also need to acknowledge that the setting they are growing up in is very different than when you did. Social media has made everything so much faster, including social issues, trends, lingo, and more. How you address all the concerns and problems children today are facing growing up in the 21st century will need to be done from a place of compassion and understanding, even if you need to set firm boundaries and consequences.
