FIlling an Emply Nest

We’re fast approaching the time of year when young adults are frantically studying for A-Levels to take their first steps toward independence with University or apprenticeships, and those a little way down the road are heading towards graduation and anticipating their first steps in the working world.

Life with adult children can leave some feeling lost and empty. Having seen their children fly the coop without looking back.

Flocking the nest is a time of excitement and wide-eyed optimism for what comes next for young people, but often the feelings of parents are overlooked. It can be a time of worry and fearing the unknown of what happens next. It can feel that it’s come around too soon, that you still have more love and guidance to give.

However, the sudden extra space in the house and a desire to find purpose can work hand in hand.

With years of experience in successfully bringing up children and the new addition of a spare room, fostering can be a rewarding way of overcoming such emptiness and making a positive difference in a young person's life, teaching valuable skills and steering them onto the path of a brighter future.

Fostering can come with the stigma of ‘difficult’ children. But parenting always comes with its rewards and challenges.

Navigating children through to adulthood provides invaluable experience that can be reapplied in the fostering space with the same rewarding elements by seeing these vulnerable children become success stories.

Celebrity couple Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon recently spoke of their intention to foster once their children leave home, owing to Joe’s experience of growing up with foster siblings and the difference it made in their lives. Having prominent figures in the media is the first step in breaking the stigma that can surround fostering. TT

If you think fostering a child could be for you, and you have the time, compassion, space, and love to give, then we would love to hear from you.