One thing that all foster carers have to be is fit and healthy to begin caring for children. While this is important, what also counts is ensuring that you remain in good health throughout your time as a carer. This will enable you to thrive in the role, and ensure that the children you look after are in safe hands. This guide focuses on both mental and physical health factors that all carers should be thinking about.
Be Honest From the Beginning
When you begin the fostering process you will need to show that you are fit enough to care for foster children. This includes physical health conditions and mental health ones too. While you will never be excluded from applying to the panel and becoming a carer if you have a history of mental health problems such as depression, it is important to show how you are actively managing these types of conditions. This could be anything from active engagement with medication to lifestyle changes like therapy.
Schedule Regular Checkups
A great way to look after your physical health is to have regular checkups with your doctor. Be available for things like annual health checks and mammograms. Your doctor will perform essential checks like blood pressure and ask you questions to get a full picture of your health. By doing this, you should be able to stay on top of red flags and maintain a general level of fitness that is beneficial for this venture.
Watch Out For Burnout Symptoms
Aside from staying on top of physical symptoms that could hold you back as a carer, you also need to be involved with your brain as well. Protecting mental health is a major part of being a foster carer, and you will be doing a lot of work with the children you look after throughout their time with you. However, you also need to learn how to look inside your own mind and catch yourself before you hit the point of burning out. Mental burnout will stop you from being the safest and strongest foster carer you can be, and this is not ideal if you want to do it for a long time.
Eat Right
A big part of both mental and physical health is ensuring you have a balanced, well-researched diet. This will benefit both you and the children, and it is an important part of daily life for anyone. While the occasional sugary treat is perfectly acceptable, there is a whole load of value in having a balanced diet for both sides of the health equation.
Remember to Exercise
The same is true of exercise. Being a foster carer means a lot of your time will be spent looking after the children, just like any parent. However, if you don’t take time for yourself to exercise then you will feel the consequences fairly rapidly.
Protecting your health as a foster carer is non-negotiable. Your agency will expect a certain level of engagement.