Fostering at Christmas

Christmas may be 'the most wonderful time of the year' but we can all agree most families will face a few ups and downs during the festive season. But what might that look like if you're also fostering a child who might have very mixed feelings about the season?

In this episode we chat to our foster carer, Marcy, as she shares her personal story of getting her foster child through the holidays and sheds light on the importance of managing expectations, the importance of consistency and finding ways to allow children to process feelings and regulate themselves during the Christmas period.

Join us as we explore the delicate balance between celebrating family traditions and catering to the emotional needs of foster children during this busy time of year.

Learn more about fostering and adoption with Barnardo’s:
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/fostering-and-adoption

To learn more about fostering and adoption in NI, visit our Linktr.ee:
https://linktr.ee/barnardosfosteringni

To ask a question, give us some feedback or make a topic request, email us at:
[email protected]

Foster belonging with us!

Interested in fostering or adoption? Not sure where to start? 

Meet Barnardo's Fostering & Adoption here in NI. Your guide is Ness who looks after recruitment and is not a social worker. 

Let Ness introduce you to the wider team, to foster carers and adopters who are willing to share their experiences and give you (and Ness) insights into the world of fostering and adoption.  What is it really like? What is 'Panel'? What kind of training can you expect? What sort of support will you get? Will you be able to work and foster? What is the difference between fostering and adoption? 

This is the place to find answers to these questions and more. Over the coming months, we  will be talking through the application process, the kinds of professional training and support you can expect and the different types of fostering, including fostering to adoption and parent and child placements. We will speak with those who've walked the walk (and can talk the talk) from both our NI service and those across the UK.

Barnardo's needs more families, couples and single carers, from all walks of life, whether they are considering fostering and/or adoption, to ensure that when  children need a loving family, the right one is there for them. Could it be you?

Learn about Fostering & Adoption with Barnardo's here:  https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/fostering-and-adoption

To learn more about Fostering and Adoption with us in Northern Ireland, visit our Linktr.ee here: https://linktr.ee/barnardosfosteringni

 To ask a question, give us some feedback or make a topic request, contact us at [email protected]. 

Together, we can change lives.  #fosterbelongingwithus



Image credit: main: Janine Boyd Photography,  banner: Katherine Hanlon, Unsplash

• No. of episodes: 20
• Latest episode: 2025-05-15
• Business Kids & Family Non-Profit Parenting

Where can you listen?