Tim and Louise thought their family had something to offer

 Tim was a market trader, working three days a week, and Louise worked the other three when they started fostering. "This worked well for childcare and fostering," says Tim, "as there was always one of us to look after the children."

The couple decided they'd foster children who were younger than their son, so as he grew up there'd always be a younger child in the house. "But after taking in two poorly babies, one after the other, we realised we were very adept at dealing with babies. Since then, we've focused on looking after babies with special needs."

"Fostering newborns involves a lot of give and take as decisions are made about the baby's future. Sometimes new mums give up their baby, only to realise that was the wrong decision. Sometimes we look after a newborn for a few weeks, sometimes for several months or a couple of years, depending how long it takes for adoption plans to be finalised. 

Training and learning

Since Tim and Louise first started fostering, research on how best to foster and transition babies to their forever families has progressed significantly.

We've learned so much about babies over the years. I've done several incredible training courses, learning about babies' brains and how they develop, how children's brains develop and grow in their teenage years too."

There have been huge changes over the last 30 years. "In the 90s adoptive parents met their babies for the first time on a Tuesday, and the baby moved in a week later after a longer introduction on the Thursday. Foster parents weren't allowed to visit the baby for at least three months. Now there's a longer transition period, we work together for longer. Adoptive parents spend more time with the baby before the child moves in, and foster parents gradually reduce their contact time once the baby has moved home. This ensures the baby doesn't feel abandoned as researchers now know this can lead to mental health issues for the child later down the line."

Money

Tim remembers that when he and Louise first started fostering, the government paid an allowance to make sure foster carers weren't out of pocket when looking after the child. In the 1990s it was decided that councils would pay foster carers a fee for their time and expertise. Making fostering a paid role enabled more people to continue fostering.

"We didn't start fostering for the money, we started because we knew there were children who needed a loving home, and we thought we had something to offer.  Over time we realised we were living two really enjoyable lives: one life when we have a foster baby living with us and a different life when we don't have a child. Although we don't get paid when we are not looking after a child, we have freedom to come and go as we please. Because of our respective working patterns, once of us is always at home and we were able to continue to work at the same time as fostering. The tax relief you get on your fostering income is very welcome addition." 

So rewarding

Tim and Louise form deep and lasting bonds with both the adoptive parents and the baby.

We're about to receive baby number 44 - it's been almost non-stop since we started. It's so rewarding, and we love being in touch with children we have previously fostered. One of the babies we fostered is now 26. She was back in the area for Christmas and popped round to see us. Thanks to fostering, we've got a large extended family."