How Fostering Brought Our Family Closer
Wednesday 01 July 2026
From a young age Monica felt a deep calling to support children who needed love, stability and care. Fostering is often described as a leap of faith, and years later, Monica embraced that leap wholeheartedly when she began her fostering journey with Five Rivers. In this interview, Monica shares her journey into fostering and the support she received along the way. She highlights the importance of training, the strength found in peer support, and the difference a positive relationship with your Social Worker can make. She also reflected on her first placement, the impact fostering has on her family, and why choosing the right agency made all the difference.
Can you share your fostering experience so far?
It was very interesting and a lot better than I expected. To be honest, initially I thought it would be very difficult, especially after reading about the person I was going to foster, but my Social Worker really thought I could do it and thought we would be a good match and I am so glad I did it. It was a leap of faith really, and luckily, I did and so far, it’s been, very good.
When you initially met the first young person you fostered, how did you approach them, how did you build that relationship with them?
I decorated her room not knowing purple was her favourite colour and I got her gifts to welcome her, and each gift had a story. I gave her a tour of the house, and when we opened the doors to her room, she told me “That’s my favourite colour. How did you know?”
Children are the same. You know the whole world round children are the same, I just had to remind myself of that.
Why did you choose to foster, and how did you choose Five Rivers?
I like children. My sister had just been born, and I enjoyed everything about babies. I think it’s one of those things that you’re born with. I think I was around nine years old when I knew I wanted to look after children that needed love. That is what I had planned to do. I love looking after people who need help. Plus, I have volunteered for a year in a children’s home, so it has always been in my background. But I had my own children and a business, so I wasn’t in the position at the time to give it my all because I wanted to focus on my children, and then afterwards I can get into fostering.
Everybody has known that it’s something that I intended to do. So now that my kids have all grown up, it felt like the right time. Although, my youngest one is still at home but she’s an adult, she’s 22.
Has fostering impacted your family dynamics?
It hasn’t changed much; it was just the right time.
“I think it brought us closer. I am the youngest, so I have never had a younger sister and so I think it has made us closer and really brought us together”. – Monica’s birth daughter
Did you sit down with your family and talk about it and make the decision together?
Yes. It was always discussed, so it wasn’t a shock when my mum started fostering.
I think it was the right time to start.
“Mum has always talked about fostering or adoption, and it was just thinking about what would work best. And I think when the time came, it just made sense to do it now because we are all a lot older now.” – Monica’s birth daughter
How did you find the process of joining Five Rivers?
Choosing the right organisation was the hardest part because there are just so many and there is such a big demand for Foster Carers. But once I registered with Five Rivers, it was easy sailing. Five Rivers have been good to me.
Five Rivers have given me everything I needed and everything I have wanted. I have a fantastic Social Worker who is always there for me.
How have you felt supported by the team at Five Rivers?
Five Rivers have so many ways of helping, there’s always something helpful that pops up on emails, offering something that they will help you. Also, I’ve called my Social Worker, to ask her certain questions and she’s always there to help and if she doesn’t know how to help, she’ll go and find the answer and then come back to me.
I also find it helpful to talk with other Foster Carers, like my friend Vanessa, because she’s been fostering for over 20 years, so, she’s very, very experienced. I like to be able to look at things from other people’s points of view as well, because everybody has a certain way of looking after children. So, I like to ask her for a Foster Carer’s point of view.
How have your birth children responded emotionally to welcoming your foster child into the home?
No problems whatsoever. My children are secure enough. I mean, they’re grown up now. They didn’t feel intimidated, they didn’t feel pushed out or feel jealous. There was nothing like that. They were all in it. So, it was an easy transition.
So far, what has been the most rewarding part or your favourite moment of being a foster carer?
The child I look after is very affectionate and although I believe in rules, I balance it out, everything that I do is from a place of care. She trusts me now. When she first came to me, she had an aversion to reading but now she enjoys reading.
She can’t hug me enough and she can’t tell me how much she loves me enough. Her appreciation of the things that I do is really, really touching.
Now she thoroughly trusts me. She’s learning how to make decisions. She’s learning so much, she made churros the other day by reading the instructions herself, she’s so confident and she’s really trying.
She is very empathetic. You know, she feels for people, and she will go the extra mile or attempt to go the extra mile for people.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering fostering?
I would come from the side of, I am a carer by nature, and if you have that element and concern for people, and you have the space, I think you should give fostering a chance. It is extremely rewarding and it’s worth it. You can change someone’s life.
What have you learned about yourself on this journey?
I respect and trust myself a lot more since starting my fostering journey. My children, I have had them from day one so I have never had a child who is almost grown and can defy me. I never realised I could guide them the way that I have; her confidence has grown; she now believes and knows that she is beautiful and capable.
I mean, I think that’s huge; a whole human being’s life has changed. I think again, if you’ve got those elements of care within you, you should take a step forward and do it because you will be rewarded. And when I say reward, I’m not talking about financial, I’m talking about the things that the child says, the way the child relates to you and vice versa.
Watch Monica’s Full Story
Discover Monica’s journey and how it shaped where she is now.
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If you’re inspired by Monica’s story, contact our friendly Carer Enquiries team today for an informal chat about becoming a Foster Carer.