Fostering families

I had a bit of a day out yesterday.

Quick run up to the Beeb to do a prog for S4C well it wasn't actually me that was doing it, Bruce and Bethan were doing a spot on a regular prog.

It was lovely to see how the fact they were being interviewed live in an early evening slot didn't really phase them at all. The most natural thing in the world to do as far as they were concerned.

That's one of the pluses of being a foster carer, the day previous I had spent getting a performance licence sorted for Bruce, because of course I was at home.

As a full time carer they have not known many times when dad has not been available to take them somewhere, pick them up, drop everything and take them to casualty.

As a father I have not missed their childhood not any of it.

When they were younger we used to take the more interesting teenies, children you might have seen in the papers described as one person crime waves, children on their way to or coming from rooms with bars on the windows. It was a lively life, first name terms with everyone in the Police station, coffee readily produced in casualty and on the children's ward.

But for my children this seemed to go on around them and not particularly touch them. It was also good for many of the looked after children, whose childhood had often been truncated and distorted, a serial car thief and general mischief maker could fill in the gaps in his childhood under the pretence of playing with my four year old son. 2 boys splashing in puddles and covered in mud.

But there was more benefit too, because these older teenies were witness to good enough parenting, now at least they have a fighting chance.

Many of the children we foster come from families that have been fostered. They love their children dearly and desperately want to be good enough parents but have no idea what exactly that means.

My own children though knew that dad would be home, holiday times would be times when dad was always home. Too many fathers, increasingly, mothers too, miss the benefits of that as they struggle their 40 hours a week with 4 weeks off a year.

But back to yesterday, 2 young women, (where did my girls go?) Went confidently on the television and did themselves proud, made their father a bit proud too.