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At the time, Laura's own children were only three and five years old and at first, she worried about how they would react.
But, no need! The children took it in their stride and loved having other children around.
“My birth children have brilliant bonds with the foster children we have cared for and are really protective over them. When the children first join our family, they love showing them around the house, where the snacks are, and how to feed the dog!
Some people worry about giving up time they would spend with their birth children, but it's done the opposite for me. Because of fostering I can stay at home and care for my own children alongside foster children. My children have learnt so much empathy and compassion from sharing their home with others.”
Birth children have an important role to play in a foster family. Most of our foster carers have their own children, including Vanessa and her birth daughter Amelie. We support their wellbeing during the process too, as Laura explains.
So Laura applied to become a foster carer with Essex County Council
All foster carers receive tailored support and training, delivered by experts. For Laura, she had a fostering buddy there to help her.
"When we applied, there were lots of support groups for us to join. I had a brilliant buddy assigned to me who guided our family through the process. Plus, I’m now part of a peer support group for foster carers. We all get together once a month and bring all the children that are in our care, they get along really well. The children play with others in similar situations and realise they’re not alone, and the carers get to come together to learn from one another too.”
Also, Laura was surprised by how many children in Essex are in need of a loving home
Her family have seen the difficulties vulnerable children are facing.
"There was one little boy who was with our family for 6 months. At the beginning he was quite vulnerable and shy. He had a rough start in life, he'd never had a bath or sat at a dining room table before. He had also missed out on key parts of his childhood like learning to ride a bike or having a bedtime story.
After a few months of love and support from our family, he transformed into a happy and confident little boy, then he went on to be adopted. It was sad, but also a joyful goodbye seeing him go on to his forever home.
It is amazing to see the children become more confident and having fun, like children should be."
Essex County Council helped Laura build more space at home, to help more children
Laura and her family wanted to help as many children in need of care as possible, but they had limited space in their house. However, through support from Essex County Council, Laura was able to get a grant for a loft conversion in her home. This enabled the family to create an additional bedroom used for fostering.
“We were really lucky to receive help with our loft conversion. The extra room means we can help more children in need of a stable home. When our birth children get a bit older and they leave, we will have more room to look after more children.”
Laura is passionate about encouraging other families in Essex to foster.
“There’s a whole community of support around you from mentors and training to mental health experts at your disposal to help you as you start your fostering journey. To anyone thinking of fostering, I would say just go for it. It’s been an incredibly rewarding experience for my whole family. Fostering is something you can do with young children still at home, get in touch!”