Foster Care Fortnight 2012 - 14-27 May
Foster Care Fortnight: PACT publish a Guide to looking after children for day, a weekend or longer
ADOPTION and fostering charity Parents And Children Together (PACT) has produced a Guide to share some wisdom around looking after children for a short time, and to mark Foster Care Fortnight.
PACT staff have collected some tips on how to care for children who aren’t with their daddys or tummy mummys. The Guide is for any one in loco parentis, grandparents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, step parents or family friends.
Top tips include:
- Catching children being good – and encouraging good behaviour
- Childrenand snacking – how to balance treats
- Handling temper tantrums
Plus lots of ‘fun on a shoe string’ ideas to entertain children.
If you would like to see our daily tips – follow PACT on Twitter and Facebook, or download the PACT Guide to looking after children for a day, a weekend or longer at www.pactcharity.org/guide
Over 8,000 new foster carers will be needed over coming months to support and love the children who sadly can’t live with their birth families. When children are away from their birth families they need careful parenting and nurturing to help their self-esteem to develop despite the disruption in their home lives. ( Need for foster carers according to Fostering Network) .
To help meet the national demand for foster carers, PACT is expanding its fostering service to include short term and respite fostering as well as long term fostering.
PACT’s Assistant Director for Fostering, Jean Smith, appealed for more people to come forward to consider supporting a child through fostering.
She said:, “If you have a spare room, love being with children and could dedicate the energy and commitment needed to care for a child for a short while, get in touch.”
PACT is holding fostering information events during Foster Care Fortnight.
□ Tuesday 15th May, PACT Children’s Centre, Didcot, OX11 8PS, 7.30pm
□ Tuesday 22nd May, St Saviour’s Pimlico, SW1V 3QW, 6pm
To register your interest in finding out more about Fostering with PACT email Lorraine.white@pactcharity.org or call 080 7592 3923.
To see a short video of a PACT foster carer go to www.pactcharity.org/wall and go to the video for Debbie Headley.