Fostering a disabled child
The role of an independent fostering agency
Can I choose who I foster?
How to foster
What are the benefits of fostering with an independent fostering agency?
What happens when a child is taken into care?
Becoming A Foster Carer
Benefits of becoming a foster parent
What is a Care Leaver?
What is a Foster Carer?
What is Foster Care?
Do I become a Foster Carer?
Fostering Regulations
How to Foster a Child
How long does it take to become a Foster Carer?
How to foster – everything you ever wanted to know
Facts about Foster Care
What are the Foster Care requirements?
Foster Care Handbook
Foster Carer Job Description
Changing IFA - Transferring to Capstone
Fostering Definition
Foster Care Statistics
Fostering Assessment
Fostering Outcomes
Fostering Stories
Fostering Children UK
Children needing Fostering
Reasons for a child to be taken into Care
Fostering as a Career
Looked after Children
Top transferable job skills to become a foster carer
Fostering as a same sex couple
Fostering while renting
Can I foster if...?
Mythbusting the top 10 Foster Care Myths
Can I foster if I am disabled?
LGBT Fostering Mythbusting
Can I foster if I have pets?
Can I Foster A Child?
Can you Foster and Work?
Can you Foster with a Criminal Record
Fostering as a Single Parent
LGBT Family and Foster Care
Fostering across Cultures
Empty Nest Syndrome and Foster Care
10 things you can do when your Children fly the nest
Can I Foster?
Fostering Babies - Myth Busting
Focusing on Parent & Child Fostering
Fostering Siblings
Fostering Teenagers
Fostering Teenagers - Breaking down the Myths
Fostering Unaccompanied and Asylum Seeking Children
Mother and Baby Foster Placements
Private Fostering
Therapeutic Fostering - Multi-disciplinary Assessment & Treatment Service (MATS)
Young Children Fostering Placements
Difference between short and long-term fostering
Children who foster: impact of fostering on birth children
How to prepare your home for a foster child
Tips for coping when foster placements end
Tips for foster parents during Coronavirus
What happens if foster parents get divorced?
5 ways to manage Mother’s Day with foster children
How to deal with empty nest syndrome
How to recognise signs of depression in foster children
Can you take a foster child on holiday?
Tips and advice on fostering with a disability
10 tips on connecting with your Foster Child
Fostering versus Adoption - What's the difference?
How Fostering can change a future
How to adopt from Foster Care
How to encourage children to read in Foster Care
How to prepare a Foster Child's bedroom
Online grooming - unwanted contact and how to identify it
Reading and storytelling with Babies and young Children
Supporting Children's Learning
Technology and Internet Safety advice
The 20 most recommended books Foster Carers and young people should read
The impact of early childhood traumas on adolescence and adulthood
Tips for coping with attachment disorders in Foster Children
Tips for supporting reunification in Foster Care
Together for a better Internet - Web Safety for Foster Children
What is sexual abuse and sexual violence
Foster Child behaviour management strategies
Foster Parent Advice: What to expect in your first year of fostering
Capstone's twelve tips at Christmas
10 celebrities who grew up in Foster Care
Celebrating our Children and Young People
Could Millenials be the solution to the Foster Care crisis?
Do you work in Emergency Services?
Form F Assessor
Foster Care Fortnight
Improving Children's Welfare - Celebrating Universal Children's Day
It's time to talk about Mental Health and Foster Care
New Year - New Career - Become a Foster Carer
Promoting the rights and wellbeing of persons with Disabilities
Refugee Week
Young people and Mental Health in a changing world
Young People Charities
If you have permanent or long-term children living with you and they grow into teenagers, you already have a sense of who they are and they have a sense of who you are. If teenagers come into your life as new placements, becoming acquainted may take a while. It’s part of being the age that they are and it is part of their experience with foster care.
The transition into adulthood can be tough even under the best of circumstances. There are so many hormonal and physical changes taking place. Concerns about appearance, peer pressure, and the future add to the pressure. As foster children approach 18, they are aware that soon they will be aging out of foster care and entering adulthood. The hope and the dream is that once they are on their own, life will become the type of life that they have believed is possible. However, they have often discovered that reality has a way of not living up to expectations.
Fostering teenagers through these changes can take a great deal of time and effort. The lines of communication may need to be repaired before you begin. If you have been through this before, you have the kind of experience and knowledge that can guide you. If you have not been through it before, you have the support of Capstone Foster Care and its professionals.
Often, by the time they are at this age, they have been in care for a long time. Some have been returned to their family several times over. They are old enough to be more aware of what is happening around them. Often they have learned to keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves. They stop viewing their new home as a permanent place to stay.
Sex is a powerful factor in a teenager’s life. When you are a parent to teenagers, you will be faced with conversations about sex, love, and relationships. The stronger your comfort level when it comes to these discussions, the more successful they will be.
According to studies, young women in foster care are more than twice as likely to become pregnant before they are 19 years old. The reasons for the higher incidents of pregnancy in female foster teenagers is not clear. Perhaps they think that having a baby is a way of creating a strong family bond. Maybe it is simply a lack of awareness about sexuality.
If you are the kind of person who can accept the challenges of fostering older children, you may find great rewards in caring for and helping adolescents. You will not be alone in the task of leading a boy or girl into the intricacies of a successful and happy adulthood.
Young people in this age group who have been in care can display difficult behaviour at home and in school. They may make poor choices of friends and they are often not very tactful in telling you what they think of your attempts to control them with rules and advice that they do not wish to listen to.
Capstone Foster Care offers a strong support system with training, social workers, and a team of professionals who can assist in working through any problems that may arise.
Why not give us a call to find out more on 0800 012 4004 or simply click here.
For a more in-depth look at fostering teenagers, why not read our expert article on the subject?
Start the conversation today. Our team of friendly advisors are on hand to answer any foster care questions you may have. We can offer you honest and practical advice that can help you decide if becoming a foster carer is the right path for you.
