Wirral Life April 2019 | Page 12

Could you help a parent and child stay together? Parent and child foster care provides much needed support and education for young parents S OMETIMES, we all need a little help when it comes to raising a child. As rewarding as it can be, it’s also one of the toughest jobs in the world. For many different reasons, some parents may need a little helping hand to help bring their child up as best they can. They may not have their own parental support, or perhaps they’re a young, single parent who needs some advice. That’s where you come in. Parent and child placements are a specialist type of fostering where a young parent, usually a mother and baby, comes to stay with you at a time when they need extra support. They might be having difficulties looking after their new baby, or need some extra help and advice so that they can do it well. Sometimes there might be concerns about drug or alcohol use, or it might be a learning difficulty or mental health problems that are making parenting difficult. Of course every place- ment is diffe- rent; they won’t all involve young mothers and babies. A single parent with an older child may be struggling due to health issue, or a father may be struggling to adjust as a newly single parent. As with all types of foster care, this is a diverse role and includes parents and children from a variety of backgrounds. is to provide support and to educate the mother or father so that hopefully they can go on to give the best care to their child. There has been a significant rise in the number of parent and child placements over the past few years, but more carers are still needed. You will need to be committed to Julie, Wirral Foster Carer providing help and support whenever it is needed, 24 hours a day. The ultim- Most of the skills required will ate goal be developed during training, of all but it can be hugely beneficial foster if you have your own parenting care experience to draw on. place- To find out more about ments is to keep fostering or to apply to become families together a Wirral foster carer, visit wherever poss- ible. With parent wirralfostering.org or call and child foster 0151 666 4510. Have you got the heart? care, the aim It’s changed my life for the better It takes a big heart to foster wirralfostering.org #bigheart