4 Great Books on Becoming a Foster Carer We Recommend

At Family Fostering Partners, we understand that the decision to become a foster carer is a life-changing one. Fostering comes with immense responsibility and great rewards. To support those considering this journey, we highly recommend turning to trusted resources that provide insight, guidance, and a deeper understanding of fostering. Whether you're just starting your path or have years of experience, these books for foster parents will equip you with valuable knowledge and practical advice. When you decide to become a foster carer for Family Fostering Partners, as well as suggestions books for foster parents, you will also be invited to training and receive lots of support too! 

 

Training offered by Family Fostering Partners to help you become a foster carer with confidence. 

At Family Fostering Partners, we provide comprehensive training to all of our foster parents, covering essential topics like attachment, trauma, and therapeutic parenting. We understand that fostering comes with unique challenges, and no one is expected to know everything from the start – in fact, you don’t need any prior parenting experience or qualifications to become a foster carer. At Family Fostering Partners, we offer ongoing support and guidance to help you navigate your fostering journey. These recommended books for foster parents are excellent tools to expand your knowledge beyond our training, offering deeper insights and practical strategies to support the children in your care. By combining our professional training with self-guided learning, you can feel more confident and prepared in your role as a foster carer, or your journey to become a foster carer. As well as the training that we provide in house, you will also have access to ‘Foster Talk’,  a platform that provides lots of resources to help guide you on your fostering journey.  

Click here to hear from Steve, who tell us about his experience of training as an experienced foster parent with Family Fostering Partners…

 

If you want to learn how to become a foster carer, or are interested in books about fostering, here are four books for foster parents that we recommend:

 

A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting – Sarah Naish

If you're looking for a comprehensive guide to therapeutic parenting to help you become a foster carer, Sarah Naish’s A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting is a must-read. This book delves into therapeutic parenting techniques, which are essential for those who are hoping to become a foster carer, as well as those who are already fostering. Throughout your fostering journey, it’s important to refer to books for foster parents; this book will help you to care for children who have experienced trauma. Naish covers a wide range of behaviours and offers practical solutions to help foster parents create a stable, loving and secure environment for children. Her approach is empathetic and grounded in real-life experiences, making it accessible and relatable for those hoping to become a foster carer and seasoned carers alike. If you’re looking for books for foster parents, this should be at the top of your list! 

 

Attachment, Trauma and Resilience - Kate and Brian Cairns

Understanding the complexities of attachment and trauma is key when fostering. Although when you begin your fostering journey to become a foster carer, these words may not have meaning, through training and support with Family Fostering Partners, they’ll soon become part of your parenting approach.  

This book for foster parents will support your training and teaches about Attachment, Trauma and Resilience. 

Written by Kate and Brian Cairns (who over a 25 year period worked as social workers and fostered 12 children alongside their own birth children); they know everything there is to know about how to become a foster carer! In their book, they explore how traumatic experiences can impact a child’s development and behaviour, and provides those hoping to become a foster carer with the tools they need to nurture resilience. In this insightful book for foster parents, the authors draw from their extensive personal and professional experiences to provide an insight into the challenges of family life when parenting children affected by trauma. Through vividly depicted scenarios, they illustrate how as a family, they navigated situations involving intense emotions and challenging behaviours displayed by the children in their care. 

 

A Guide to Attachment, How to Create a Positive Future, and Looking After Looked After Children - Sir John Timpson CBE

Sir John Timpson CBE and Alex Timpson spent more than a decade as foster carers, and during that time, discovered that attachment issues are a frequent challenge among children who are looked after. In their books for foster parents, they detail how learning about different attachment styles can help foster parents, or those hoping to become a foster carer, to build a meaningful connection with the children they care for. 

Timpson’s practical approach and compassionate tone make this book a fantastic resource for those wanting to build a deeper emotional connection with the children in their care. Their experience as foster parent’s themselves offers those hoping to become a foster carer with a real-world perspective on what it takes to help looked after children thrive. 

 

A Safe Place for Rufus – Jill Seeney

A Safe Place for Rufus  by Jill Seeney is a beautifully illustrated picture book for children aged 4-8 that helps children who are fostered to understand the importance of feeling safe. The book also helps current children living with you to understand the challenges that children coming to live with your family may experienced, making it a must have book for those hoping to become a foster carer, with birth children of their own.  

Rufus, a cat who once lived with an unkind family, now feels secure in his new home, but memories of his past still cause him sadness and anger. The book gently explores how change and transitions, like moving to a new family, can be confusing for children, and emphasizes the importance of finding a safe space to process emotions. Accompanied by activity guidelines, it encourages children to reflect on their own feelings and discover their personal safe places. This is one of the ‘must have’ books for foster parents hoping to foster young children, or with young children of their own. 

 

Why These Books for Foster Parents Matter 

At Family Fostering Partners, we believe in providing foster carers, or those hoping to become a foster carer, with the best tools to succeed. Whether you are just learning how to become a foster carer  or are looking for ongoing support, these books cover essential topics like trauma, attachment, therapeutic parenting, and emotional wellbeing. Each of these titles offers invaluable guidance to help those hoping to become a foster carer, or those already fostering, to build strong, nurturing relationships and create a positive, lasting impact on children's lives. 

 

How You Can Become a Foster Carer and use our Recommended Books for Foster Parents

If you are interested in fostering or want to learn more about fostering  with Family Fostering Partners, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us today. Use the ‘Chat to Us’ feature in the bottom right hand corner, or click here to request an information pack. With the resources above, coupled with the training and support that we provide, together can make a difference to the lives of vulnerable children. Contact us today 0r complete our fostering application form to get started.