Fostering is a fantastic thing to do for a child or multiple children. It’s also an incredibly rewarding experience, with many benefits for you and your household. But living with children can be overwhelming, and foster children require lots of love, attention, and support. If you are a new foster carer, your own health and well-being might be things that get left behind as you try to give a child all of your attention. But if you want to care for someone else, you need to look after yourself. Here are some tips for looking after your health and well-being while you are fostering.
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Make Time for Yourself
Life with children can be exhausting, and it’s hard to make time for yourself. But it’s essential that you do. Being able to exercise alone, fit in hobbies, and enjoy a little peace is crucial if you want to restore your energy, beat stress, and stay upbeat. When you are tired, make sure you prioritise time to yourself over things like household chores and don’t be scared to say no to other people and commitments if you need a break.
Enjoy Simple Pleasures
As much as you might crave a holiday or a trip to the spa, these kinds of breaks aren’t always possible when you are looking after children. So, you need to learn to enjoy simpler pleasures like a cup of coffee with a friend, reading a book before bed, or practising yoga. Try to do something for yourself every day, even if it’s just 10 minutes.
Build a Support Network
Fostering is filled with challenges. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and upset by certain situations, and so as important as your family and friends are, you’ll need to socialise with other foster carers too. Use resources like thefca.co.uk and reach out to foster carers both online and in your local area.
Prioritise Nutrition
Good nutrition helps to boost your energy levels, protect your health, and even improve your mood and mental health. Make sure you are eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and enjoying your favourite flavours even when you are busy.
Fit Exercise into Your Schedule
It can be hard to exercise when you have children at home, especially if they are young. But exercise will help you to stay fit and healthy, it will protect your mental health and reduce stress, and boost your confidence.
Try going for walks, bike rides and hikes with your foster child, and if you need more, try short home workouts when they are playing or in bed.
Get Lots of Rest
Rest is more important than ever when we’re busy and stressed out, or when we’ve taken on a new challenge. Make sure you are going to bed earlier and getting enough sleep and try to find time to rest when you can.
Taking care of yourself while you are fostering is essential. It will help you to be the best foster parent you can be while staying healthy and fighting stress.
