Siblings awarded for being positive role models

Izzy, 11 Nathan, 18 and Abbie, 20 live with their parents Karen and Daniel who have been a fostering family for 7 years. The siblings have won Foster4’s Sons and Daughters, Positive Role Models Award for the compassion and care they show to other children.

Karen and Daniel are foster carers and they tell us what made them nominate Izzy, Nathan and Abbie for a Sons and Daughters award.

Why do they deserve to win a Sons and Daughters award?

“For being truly amazing and resilient when welcoming foster children into their family home. We are so proud of Izzy, Nathan and Abbie for sharing their home, mum, dad, toys and family time. Being understanding and being able to cope with every day challenges and difficult behaviours. Always showing compassion and caring at all times, despite struggling at times with their challenging behaviours. Fostering has given them insight into additional needs, diversity. With them becoming more grounded young people from their experiences of fostering.”

How do they help the children you care for?

“Shares their toys, home, family friends, mum and dad time. They read to the little ones, helped them to read and write and love baking, sports, crafts with the foster children. We are all very proud of them and how each of them are amazing positive role models.”

If you had to describe them in three words, what would you say?

“You’re truly amazing”

What are the challenges they have faced?

“Challenging behaviours from the foster children. Sharing their family, family time.”

What have been the positives of fostering for your whole family?

“Developed the whole families understanding of complex and additional needs, different families backgrounds. Fostering made us all more resilient and grounded. It has benefited us all. Our son Nathan has being an amazing role model for the foster children, coaching them various team sports at home and in their local community, which has been vital in their development as he is now completing a teaching assistant apprenticeship within a specialist needs school. Without the benefits of fostering, this may not have been his chosen career path and he says he wants to foster himself in the future. Abbie is currently studying at university and going on to study special needs teaching, she said without the experiences and knowledge from fostering children with additional needs, this wouldn’t have been her chosen career path. Izzy is a resilient young person with an amazing sense of humour and beautiful smile.”

What changes have you seen in the children you have fostered? And what part did your birth children play in this?

“Learning to read and write. Helped by reading stories. Spending lovely precious time with them to develop with their day to day lives, and being a positive role model. Supported them in developing their love of team sport which has lead the foster children to be selected for S1 and S9 Cheshire disability squad. Their confidence is growing day by day.”

What small things they have done that have made a big impact?

“Their smiles, understanding and sense of humour helps get through day to day challenges and brings a smile to everyone.”

Foster4 recognise the importance of celebrating the contribution children of foster carers make in the success of fostering. Izzy, Nathan and Abbie received a certificate and £25 amazon voucher from Foster4 to recognise the vital contribution they make to fostering.