Welcome back to Taylor Talks!
If you thought yesterday sounded like a busy day in my house, it was nothing compared to today! My mom's friend had off from work, so she came over to help with a bunch of packing. My dad took the younger three kids to the park to get them out of our hair, so between my mom, her friend, my sister, and me, we got a whole lot accomplished. I mean, we kind of went crazy and jumped ahead with things, so now people will be sleeping on mattresses on the floor for a week or so, but hey, at least we made a lot of progress today! And it's so cute to see that my twin sisters ended up together on one mattress... reminded my mom of when they used to get themselves into the same crib so they could play together! Then tonight, I went with my friend and his boyfriend to get more bubble wrap (yes, 200 more square feet of bubble wrap), and we're moving steadily along. My parents and I finally had a chance to sit down for the first time all day, and I almost panicked because I hadn't thought of a topic for tonight's post, yikes! But then I remembered it was time for another Foster Parent Friday interview! Tonight, we're learning about Julie's experience as a foster parent in New Zealand and Australia, for nine years in each location.
If you thought yesterday sounded like a busy day in my house, it was nothing compared to today! My mom's friend had off from work, so she came over to help with a bunch of packing. My dad took the younger three kids to the park to get them out of our hair, so between my mom, her friend, my sister, and me, we got a whole lot accomplished. I mean, we kind of went crazy and jumped ahead with things, so now people will be sleeping on mattresses on the floor for a week or so, but hey, at least we made a lot of progress today! And it's so cute to see that my twin sisters ended up together on one mattress... reminded my mom of when they used to get themselves into the same crib so they could play together! Then tonight, I went with my friend and his boyfriend to get more bubble wrap (yes, 200 more square feet of bubble wrap), and we're moving steadily along. My parents and I finally had a chance to sit down for the first time all day, and I almost panicked because I hadn't thought of a topic for tonight's post, yikes! But then I remembered it was time for another Foster Parent Friday interview! Tonight, we're learning about Julie's experience as a foster parent in New Zealand and Australia, for nine years in each location.
How long have you been a foster parent?
"18 years."
Do you do respite, short-term, or long-term care?
"Crisis and short-term."
How many children have you taken in over that period of time?
"147."
Do you limit your care to a certain age group? If so, what ages do you take in?
"[We] prefer 1-5 year olds, [but we take in] all ages."
Have you ever adopted any children? If so, how many?
"No adoptions."
Did you have any biological children when you started foster care? If so, how many? How old were they at the time?
"Two biological children. Five and seven."
What were your biggest concerns as you started your foster care journey?
"[We had] none."
What is the biggest lesson you learned from being a foster parent?
"The system is broken."
Is there anything you would change about your experience as a foster parent?
"Thoughtless Carer to Carer transitions."
Do you have any words of wisdom for future or new foster parents?
"Stay away from NGO's." [NGO's are Non-Governmental Organizations]
"18 years."
Do you do respite, short-term, or long-term care?
"Crisis and short-term."
How many children have you taken in over that period of time?
"147."
Do you limit your care to a certain age group? If so, what ages do you take in?
"[We] prefer 1-5 year olds, [but we take in] all ages."
Have you ever adopted any children? If so, how many?
"No adoptions."
Did you have any biological children when you started foster care? If so, how many? How old were they at the time?
"Two biological children. Five and seven."
What were your biggest concerns as you started your foster care journey?
"[We had] none."
What is the biggest lesson you learned from being a foster parent?
"The system is broken."
Is there anything you would change about your experience as a foster parent?
"Thoughtless Carer to Carer transitions."
Do you have any words of wisdom for future or new foster parents?
"Stay away from NGO's." [NGO's are Non-Governmental Organizations]
Thank you to Julie for agreeing to answer questions for me! It's so interesting to hear how the system differs in different parts of the world, and to see how people have been impacted by being a foster parent.
Are you a foster parent who is interested in doing an interview for Foster Parent Fridays? Send me a message through my Contact page and I'll give you the details! I'm looking forward to sharing more interviews in the future to showcase the perspectives of other foster parents!
My goal is to reach 150 likes on my Facebook author page by the time I'm celebrating a year of blogging on July 29th, and it would mean so much to me if everyone could like and share my page. It's as simple as clicking the two buttons at the top right of any blog page, so it only takes a few seconds of your time! As I've mentioned before, when I reach 150 likes, I will share information about the novel that I've been working on, so I'm really excited to hit that milestone!
I’d greatly appreciate it if you would share this blog with friends and family through your favorite social media sites. If you’re sharing on Twitter, don’t forget to tag me (@TayTayK02) and use the hashtag #TaylorTalks.
Thanks!
Taylor
Are you a foster parent who is interested in doing an interview for Foster Parent Fridays? Send me a message through my Contact page and I'll give you the details! I'm looking forward to sharing more interviews in the future to showcase the perspectives of other foster parents!
My goal is to reach 150 likes on my Facebook author page by the time I'm celebrating a year of blogging on July 29th, and it would mean so much to me if everyone could like and share my page. It's as simple as clicking the two buttons at the top right of any blog page, so it only takes a few seconds of your time! As I've mentioned before, when I reach 150 likes, I will share information about the novel that I've been working on, so I'm really excited to hit that milestone!
I’d greatly appreciate it if you would share this blog with friends and family through your favorite social media sites. If you’re sharing on Twitter, don’t forget to tag me (@TayTayK02) and use the hashtag #TaylorTalks.
Thanks!
Taylor
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