It is Foster Care Fortnight (16-29 May), just a fortnight? No of course not foster caring goes on everyday latest statistics shows that over 5000 children in Scotland were in foster care, 35% of the total looked after children. Foster carers and carers in general do a fantastic job and I have had the privilege to deliver training to some, listening to their stories of nurturing, stress, worry, heartbreak, pride, love and being the people they are. I take my hat off to you all. Providing positive healthy messages to young people is something they can hold on to whether they are ready to act on them at that time or not. There will always be a time when they reflect and question the path they are on, we all do it, for most of us we have had these positive messages we can use as terms of reference to guide us. Therefore when caring for young people, in whatever role, persevere in communicating with them in a positive and healthy way, in fact we could all benefit from this. Have a great day 
Duncan, thanks for your post. Offering positive and healthy messages can be challenging, while ‘discussing’ things in a positive and healthy way can be even more challenging! It can be that the people that we are trying to communicate with are not ready or able to actively listen and take things on board…yet! Communicating and discussing things can be particularly difficult when working with young people in care…as foster carers and kinship carers will know only too well.
But how can this be made as comfortable as possible, both for carers and young people? What are the ‘tools’ that carers and young people use when they are looking to discuss things?
Please tell!
Last year I worked with a young person who was currently in foster care and interestingly enough the foster carer was the youth worker I was partnering on the project with.
I got a chance to chat to them both about the experience and hear the about the ups and downs that seemed to be happening daily in their relationship! What I took away from it was how similar their dynamic was to what you might call a ‘traditional’ family, bickering and arguing but with a warmth that showcased their true feelings for each other.
Thanks for this Alan, it is good to hear these stories as it allows us reflect on our own experiences and share others.