Sue and Kelvin - We retired and decided to foster!

In this episode of our Focus on Fostering Podcast, you get to meet Sue and Kelvin who decided to foster when they retired. 

Sue and Kelvin both nurses, first heard about fostering from another couple on a cruise, it was a few years later once retired that they decided to take their step into fostering. 

In this episode you will hear from both Sue and Kelvin on what they believe makes a great foster carer, from communication, to giving foster children pets to learn what nurturing feels like and most importantly finding out more on staying out, which is when a foster child stays with their carers after they turn 18.

If you would like to find out more about fostering please visit our website here.

If you have any questions that you would like to be answered on our next episode email podcast@nfa.co.uk

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Transcript

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Right, so, Sue and Kelvin, welcome. Thank
you so much for joining us. So,

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firstly, let's learn a little bit about
you two as a couple. You've been

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together for, what, 30 years, is it?
Can you tell us about how you

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met and married?

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We got together first and then we
were together till eight years.

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Yeah, something like that. And then we
got married in 2000.

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Did we get married at Pendle Hill?

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Pendle Hill, because we like it around
there. I come from

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Southport, sue comes from St Helens, so
I moved to St Helens with my.

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Then, you know, we got together then.

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Yeah.

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So you were both nurses, weren't you?
Tell us a bit about that. And

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you met through.

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Yeah, yeah, we were both learning
disability nurses, which are a speciality.

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I trained what is equivalent to Ashworth
now and then I left

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shortly after and went to a community
nurse supporting people with learned

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disabilities in their health needs,
mainly. And then I was asked to

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open up a number of homes that
were people discharged from the old

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large hospitals. And then I was asked
to open up an admission

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assessment unit and then eventually to
service manager. But we met.

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You interviewed me for a job.

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I interviewed you.

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Wow.

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So was that the first time you
met?

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Yes. Wow.

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And we've both been married before. We've
both got children. We've got eight kids

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between us, 20 od grandkids, some great
grandkids now. Wow. So it's a big

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family and we've got family in Canada,
Birmingham. They are

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spreadport, Lancashire.

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So you both retired, didn't you, and
then tell us about the beginning of

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your retirement and what you sort of
planned to do. And then obviously it

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changed a bit, didn't it?

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I retired at 60 because it was
the right time to retire and health

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service was becoming quite being counter
y. So I retired and got a

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job. Working for was the easiest job
in the world for insurance companies,

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doing medical interviews. So I did that
for about seven years and sue said,

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you've had enough, retire. So I retired.
But in the meantime, earlier on than

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that, we'd done this cruise, which she
met a couple who were foster carers

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and said, you two should do it.
And I said, but eventually I

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agreed to and not looked back since.

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Sue, you really wanted to do it,
didn't you? But Kelvin took quite a

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few years of persuasion, didn't he? Tell
us about that.

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Kelvin took eight years to persuade. I
love kids, I love young

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people, I love challenging myself, I love
new experiences and life is so boring

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and not very fulfilling when you're
retired unless you've got things to do.

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Our life plan was we were having
a property built in Cyprus and we

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lost some money when the financial cris
came and the house was not going

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to be worth what it was costing
to build. So we pulled out of

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that, cut our losses. We had an
apartment in Turkey instead. We had a

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caravan at Ribby hall in Lancashire, and
we were going to spread our time

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between England and Turkey and Canada with
the family. And I was so homesick,

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I was rubbish. I missed my family,
I missed my granddaughter, particularly,

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who I'd looked after since she was
five months old. And I said to

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Kelvin, I can't do this. So we
ditched all that that went out the

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window and we sort of started again.
We moved back to St Helens and

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I started to talk to Kelvin about,
let's foster, let's do something that we

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can give back and just something that's
interesting for us. And I went on

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and on and on and nagged and
nagged, and eventually he agreed that the

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first step would. And this didn't cost
anything, just contact an agency and let

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them talk to us about fostering, just
let them answer our questions and then

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we won't make any decisions until we've
heard what they've got to say. And

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let's just take it step one step
at a time. And I, at the

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time, didn't feel that we were good
enough, that we would be able to

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do it. I didn't feel that we
would. I thought the sort of, the

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bar was really high, but they basically
just want people who are resilient, where

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you can cope with a few ups
and downs, not massive, but just keep

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going. And people who are kind and
can listen and open minded

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and that's basically what happened. And
they came and talked to us, didn't

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they? And then it went through the
whole. We even enjoyed the assessment,

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didn't we? That was quite fun. Yeah.

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So we'll talk more about that in
a second. But just firstly, going back

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to that subject of retirement, I think
retirement isn't a one size fits

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all thing, isn't it? I think that
we all think, oh, we work and

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work and work for years and then,
oh, we can't wait until we get

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to put our feet up in the
Mediterranean. But it's not always how you

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think it's going to be, is it?

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So not how you think it's going
to be. And for anybody that hasn't

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got a family or ties, that might
be some, but I think that would

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just get boring. I think as human
beings, we need to feel fulfilled. It's

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not just about money, it's about feeling
useful. And your usefulness as you get

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older diminishes greatly. And it's not a
great feeling how women become invisible

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as you get sort of middle aged.
Well, older people become invisible, too.

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So a way of maintaining visibility for
us has been having our foster

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family and the fun and the challenges
that's brought. It's been fantastic. I

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just wish I had done it. I
wish I'd persuaded him. I wish I

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should have given it work 15 years
earlier, forgot Cyprus and all the rest

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of it, and just get kids.

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So, going back to the couple on
the cruise that you met, what was

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it about their story and looking at
their life? Did they have kids with

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them on the cruise or were they
just by themselves?

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Or.

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What was it about them that sort
of made you think we could do

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that?

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We ended up persuasive, weren't they?

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Well, we ended up on a table
with two police officers, two military

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people and us. So the game we
played was guess what we do for

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a living. We guessed the police straight
away. They guessed us straight away. Your

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nurses. They could tell, really. The
military people were a bit not so

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attuned as, say, the police. This police
couple had been fostering for years and

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she was on the board of an
agency in Wimslow and was really trying

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to recruit us. Kelvin was ready for
running a mile, he was, but the

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seed was planted and we thought then,
by the time we got round to

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it, that we were too old. But
it's kept us going, it's kept our

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minds active. It's been great.

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So can you remember when you first
started the process, being worried about

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those things that you thought might hold
you back and then realising that actually

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you were able to. Can you remember
that?

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Absolutely. Those things. So that one,
that we were too old. Two, that

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you hear all these stories about all
these awful kids who were out there.

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We know lots of foster carers. We've
not met any awful kids. We've been

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fostering for six years and within that
six years, we haven't met any awful

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kids. They all have needs and they've
all got something to give back to

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you, as well as what you can
offer them. The training we've had from

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fostering solutions has been on time, it's
been what we've needed. This is statutory

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training, which you need for Ofsted, but
also special interest training, things

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that were just relevant to us and
our kids. And the other thing fostering

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solutions have provided was a service by
a lady who's a psychotherapist

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helping us with all the attachment issues
that the kids had, so that what

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we were doing was targeting the needs
of our specific children. That's

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invaluable that you struggle to do that
on your own and you don't get

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that everywhere. So we're grateful to
them.

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And therapeutic parenting or attachment
theory wasn't a thing. When I trained

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as a nurse, there was no such
ideas or theories. But clearly

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it helped us, didn't it?

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It's standard now for people. So there
is enough training, there's plenty of

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training and there's still time room to
be yourself in there, to make it,

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do it your way, based with that
bit of knowledge to support you and

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back you up. The other thing we've
had, which is, I think we've been

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very fortunate, we've had the same
supervising social worker all the way

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through and she is a superstar. And
when we do stop fostering, eventually I'll

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be really sorry. We keep her as
a friend. I'll be sorry to lose

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her. So, yeah, it's been a very
supportive organisation. Yeah.

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So going back to your assessment and
your initial training and then going to

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panel and finding out that you've been
approved, tell us about how that felt.

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How did that feel, Kelvin?

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Because of my job, my role in
the past, I've been in front of

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that many panels that it didn't say
was I worried a bit, but it

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wasn't the end of the world. So
it wasn't a great.

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It was very informal. I remember being
in a wheelchair, it was very informal.

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They had someone representing foster kids
think questions. We were asked, like, was,

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when you get your first foster children,
how would you make them feel at

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home? And my reply was, I'd spoken
to my grandson about this because he

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thinks a lot. One of my grandsons,
anyway. And he'd said, well, you need

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to make them the favourite food. So
if these are asylum seekers and they're

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from Syria, you need to make syrian
food and find out what they want.

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Well, we probably wouldn't have time, but
that was the answer I gave and

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they were impressed that I'd spoken to
the kids about. So it's not rocket

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science, it's just about communicating and
listening. And there was another question

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from a guy who was a trainer
and he asked about, what would you

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do if you had kids who were
aggressive? And our answer was, well, we

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have worked because of our learning
disability background. We had worked with

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people who were aggressive, but there is
training, but we've had no experience of

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aggression from our children, they might
have been sad, they might have been

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angry, but it isn't like that. And
the training you get would support you

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to manage that. There would be reasons,
well, if parents hadn't turned up for

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contact, something like that, and the
child is really upset, you wouldn't want

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to punish your child, you would just
want to hold them and make things

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better, wouldn't you? And listen to their
point of view. So it isn't rocket

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science.

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So it's been six years that you've
been fostering now, are there any

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placements that particularly stand out? Or
maybe your first one, or maybe placements

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where you felt like, wow, we.

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Really learned something there.

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Is there anything that particularly stands
out?

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We've only had two basic placements,
obviously three people, but two

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placements. And the first was somebody who
was only with us a few days.

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And then we got her from the.

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Police station and she was only eleven
and she shouldn't have been in the

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police station, but she had become very
angry because her foster carers were

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turning the Internet off as a punishment
for her. And that's a big thing

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for a young. She was eleven for
a young person, and the Internet was

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her only contact with her siblings. She
was one of seven. I think there

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were other ways they could have. I
would suggest turning the Internet off

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without some kind of negotiation. So she'd
become very angry and they'd taken her

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to the police station. She stayed with
us for about six days and then

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she went into residential care. But it's
a shame. I don't think that's the

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thing, that maybe that was a lack
of skill with those carers. Whereas rather

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than just treat it as a, do
you feel better now? Instead of, oh,

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you can't do that. But I think
sometimes as foster carers we don't trust

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ourselves to do the right thing and
we're quite afraid of what these kids

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might bring with them. And what I've
found, what I've learned, is that they

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don't bring anything but a young person
that needs support and nurture and

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looking after and that you can do
it. And you get to the point

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where you think, oh God, I've had
enough. And then you need a break

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and that's okay, but you can do
it. Yes.

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So you've got young people now on
a stay in pot order, haven't you?

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So they're what, 18 and 19? So
tell us about that. And if you've

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got a young person with you who
becomes 18, what happens?

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What can happen is that often happens
is those children then move on

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and would live in sheltered housing or
the local authority has to provide, find

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accommodation and they get benefits and
stuff. With our two, one, like your

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own kids of 18 and 19, wouldn't
be ready to move on. They're very

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settled and comfortable. The elder ones at
universities at the second year at the

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University of Liverpool, and the younger
ones at college doing an animal management

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course, a level standard. So for them
it was like, if it's not broke,

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why change it? They wanted to stay
with us. So the stay input scheme

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is a scheme that all local authorities
have and it's something that's been pushed

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by the government, where children, when
they get past 18, they become care

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leavers. They're no longer in care, but
they can stay within the foster family.

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We get a payment from the local
authority and the children make a

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contribution as well. And so it's just
like your own kids staying at home

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and giving you a bit of money
towards the food and stuff. So it's

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exactly the same. They still come on
holiday with us, the planning, Christmas,

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weighing up, the fact that now they're
adults, will they get as many presents

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under the tree? Because we're all children
at heart, aren't we? So, yeah, stay

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in put. It's our first experience and
probably will because of our age, will

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be our only experience. But there are
no plans at the moment for them

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to move on. But the good thing
is that looked after children and care

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leavers are entitled to support from the
local authority until they're 25. So there

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is what they call a personal assistant
who is with the local authority, who

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keeps in touch. They have a plan.
Local authority know what the kids plans

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are, what they're planning to do, where
they're going to go, and when they're

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ready, they will support them to move
on. So it's working. Okay.

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So how long have those two young
people been with you now? Quite a

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long time, isn't it?

216
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Nearly six years.

217
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Nearly six years. They were twelve and
14 when they came.

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So what's that journey been like? Seeing
them grow and develop and milestones in

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00:16:27,948 --> 00:16:30,540
their life that you've shared with them?
What's that been like?

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Initially, the first few years, it was
up and down, and not because of

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their fault, because of family
circumstances, they were

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absolutely fine. But we worked through all
those issues.

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Now it's just the normal teenagers, no
different to any other teenager, they

224
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don't actually go out clubbing it or
anything or smoke or drink or anything

225
00:17:02,472 --> 00:17:09,298
like that. Enough sip and just. I
don't like that. But that's fairly normal

226
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amongst the teenagers now, I think.
Anyway, so the journey has

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been good. We've had some issues with,
again, lots.

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Of support from fostering solutions.
They've kept us going, they've kept us

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going. And the other thing they have
is they know the children and they've

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got a relationship with the children as
well, so you're not on your own.

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You do end up with a wider
network of support. And our kids are

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friends with other foster kids and we
meet up with other foster families. So

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we might have Sunday lunch. There's a
D and D group where they all

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go and play D and D for
hours and dungeons and dragons.

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It's quite the thing, isn't it?

236
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And then whoever's hosting that will make
tea for everyone. So we all go

237
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and just have tea while the kids
are playing. Dnd so, yeah, it's not

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like you're stuck in your little house
with these children and you don't know

239
00:18:02,108 --> 00:18:08,870
what to do with them. The money
you get isn't massive. I mean,

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we didn't look into the money when
we first went into fostering, did we?

241
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Just not pay?

242
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But it's enough to allow you to
get a little bit and for you

243
00:18:19,008 --> 00:18:22,926
to give those kids the type of
life that they would choose and that

244
00:18:22,948 --> 00:18:26,602
you want to give them. So we've
done lots of theatres, lots of cinemas,

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00:18:26,666 --> 00:18:31,902
we've done zip wires, we've done centre
parks, we've done Cornwall. Visiting their

246
00:18:31,956 --> 00:18:36,218
family, where their family. We even go
out for dinner with their family, with

247
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some of their family in Cornwall. We've
been to Grand Canaria, they've been to

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Amsterdam, been to Paris. So we wouldn't
have done any of them things without

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those kids.

250
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The eldest took her mum, her mum,
who's had some great difficulties in the

251
00:18:50,364 --> 00:18:56,166
past, took her mum and the younger
one to Amsterdam for five days. She

252
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planned it all and took him off.

253
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Mum had never flown, never been on
a boat.

254
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A mum is half Dutch and has
never been to Holland. So it was

255
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just a mum still has the difficulties,
but their relationship

256
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is much better.

257
00:19:17,090 --> 00:19:23,134
When you start your fostering journey, it
is normal to be anxious. That first

258
00:19:23,172 --> 00:19:25,906
few nights when you've got somebody else's
kids in your house, it's like, oh,

259
00:19:25,928 --> 00:19:31,780
my God, can I do this? But
it does settle quite quickly and

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there are times when it's quite difficult,
but there is support around you and

261
00:19:36,988 --> 00:19:42,086
as long as you recognise that you're
in it together, you're not on your

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00:19:42,108 --> 00:19:48,200
own and the kids are working with
you, then it is very rewarding. Yeah.

263
00:19:48,650 --> 00:19:52,906
From time to time, we do talk
about, what was it like when you

264
00:19:52,928 --> 00:19:57,514
first came? And they'll say something we
didn't know that went on.

265
00:19:57,712 --> 00:20:00,714
Yeah. They didn't know the family. After
two weeks, they said, we didn't know

266
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families like yours existed. We thought
all families were like ours. I said,

267
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what do you mean? Said? Well, they
all fall out and they don't talk

268
00:20:07,572 --> 00:20:11,246
to each other and they all hate
one another and they didn't know that.

269
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They didn't know about repairing
relationships. If you ever fall out. They

270
00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:20,114
didn't know about hugs. Nobody had ever
put them to bed. Nobody had ever

271
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said, go and have a bath, or
just basic, basic stuff. It's not, as

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00:20:24,728 --> 00:20:31,606
I said so many times, it's not
rocket science. Last night, I was

273
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having spaghetti and our cutlery drawer
jammed, so I had to eat the

274
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spaghetti with the spoon. And the kids
had gone to the cinema. When they

275
00:20:40,588 --> 00:20:43,178
came in, we said, we've got a
challenge for you. We can't open the

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00:20:43,184 --> 00:20:50,074
cutlery drawer. So got a screwdriver,
outer, kelvin, tool, thing, front

277
00:20:50,112 --> 00:20:53,630
off, the draw handles out. Took it
all to pieces. All the draw out.

278
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Back, straight back in. There's your fork.
That's foster care.

279
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When discovering the talents and abilities
of children, that it's amazing.

280
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And they're both very different talents
and skills, haven't they? But they are

281
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:14,402
something else.

282
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And when you realise that you could
give these children and young people these

283
00:21:20,812 --> 00:21:27,490
simple things, love and care and
protection that they wouldn't have had

284
00:21:27,580 --> 00:21:32,714
otherwise, how did that make you feel?
Did it feel quite shocking, really, to.

285
00:21:32,752 --> 00:21:39,194
Realise that it was really shocking to
realise what they'd lacked and that what

286
00:21:39,232 --> 00:21:45,358
we had was very simply just being
us was enough. And then with all

287
00:21:45,364 --> 00:21:49,326
the extra support when we've needed it,
whether it's been guidance or training or

288
00:21:49,348 --> 00:21:55,554
a bit of reading or reflection on
something that's happened, yeah. So it is

289
00:21:55,592 --> 00:21:56,238
shocking.

290
00:21:56,334 --> 00:22:02,674
It's shockingly doable, because in the
beginning you said you felt the bar

291
00:22:02,712 --> 00:22:07,394
was too high, you felt like you
weren't right for it, when really it's

292
00:22:07,442 --> 00:22:13,542
ordinary people that are needed, isn't it,
that can do extraordinary things in the

293
00:22:13,596 --> 00:22:16,326
smallest, most simple of ways, isn't it?

294
00:22:16,348 --> 00:22:22,918
Yeah. And that it is exactly that.
And even a foster carer,

295
00:22:23,094 --> 00:22:26,298
somebody told me this ages ago, a
foster carer on a bad day, and

296
00:22:26,304 --> 00:22:31,790
you will have days when you think,
not up to this is better than

297
00:22:31,860 --> 00:22:37,934
a bad parent, those children are still
in a better position with you. And

298
00:22:37,972 --> 00:22:42,462
I think the fulfilment we've got from
it. I just wish we could share

299
00:22:42,516 --> 00:22:45,120
it because it's awesome.

300
00:22:45,650 --> 00:22:50,034
And when you sort of think about
the early days of your retirement, when

301
00:22:50,072 --> 00:22:53,618
it was initially going to look quite
different, wasn't it? You were going to

302
00:22:53,624 --> 00:22:57,234
go and put your feet upon a
beach and then you decided to do

303
00:22:57,272 --> 00:23:03,158
something different. How does it feel now
to think, wow, our life could have

304
00:23:03,164 --> 00:23:06,086
been so different, as you say, you
wouldn't have had these young people in

305
00:23:06,108 --> 00:23:07,078
your lives, would you?

306
00:23:07,164 --> 00:23:11,962
No, I wouldn't change anything. I don't
think we'd have felt alive. Would we

307
00:23:12,016 --> 00:23:18,582
feel alive now? We are part of
a bigger family, but our little foster

308
00:23:18,646 --> 00:23:23,360
family, our little core is great. It
really works.

309
00:23:25,650 --> 00:23:32,270
I mean, they don't always like washing
or no different to any other mopping.

310
00:23:34,210 --> 00:23:38,878
But if there was anybody watching or
listening now that are maybe approaching

311
00:23:38,974 --> 00:23:42,658
the same sort of stage of life
that you two are in, looking at

312
00:23:42,664 --> 00:23:46,966
their retirement, thinking about what they
want to do, how would you sort

313
00:23:46,988 --> 00:23:51,606
of sell fostering to them? I suppose
going back to the couple on the

314
00:23:51,628 --> 00:23:57,414
cruise, if you were to tell other
people about it, I think.

315
00:23:57,452 --> 00:24:00,842
You'Ve got to plant the seed and
think, have you thought of fostering? And

316
00:24:00,896 --> 00:24:04,694
people usually immediately try to talk
themselves out of it. I would suggest

317
00:24:04,742 --> 00:24:10,060
they take that first step and talk
to an agency like fostering solutions who

318
00:24:11,070 --> 00:24:16,106
are very experienced, they've got lovely
people who work for them, and you'll

319
00:24:16,138 --> 00:24:19,566
be in a better position to make
a decision based on the information they

320
00:24:19,588 --> 00:24:24,250
can give you. Otherwise, it's all sort
of up here rather than anything practical.

321
00:24:24,330 --> 00:24:26,866
And you can go at your own
speed, there's no rush, and you can

322
00:24:26,888 --> 00:24:28,290
back out at any point.

323
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,642
So it sounds like fostering has been
such a positive thing for you both

324
00:24:32,696 --> 00:24:37,014
in your retirement. How would you say
that it has changed your lives? In

325
00:24:37,052 --> 00:24:39,350
what ways? What have you learned?

326
00:24:40,090 --> 00:24:44,840
I've learned. Gosh, what have we learned?
I've learned that

327
00:24:46,890 --> 00:24:53,242
it's not a quick process, helping
supporting young people. It doesn't change

328
00:24:53,296 --> 00:24:58,634
quickly. You can't turn them into clones
of your own children. They are themselves,

329
00:24:58,752 --> 00:25:04,362
they are who they are. They will
have, in my experience, they have massive

330
00:25:04,426 --> 00:25:10,282
hidden talents and advantages, and
exploring them, finding them, enabling

331
00:25:10,346 --> 00:25:13,150
them, is really worthwhile.

332
00:25:17,350 --> 00:25:22,306
I think most people can do it,
and you don't necessarily need to have

333
00:25:22,328 --> 00:25:28,386
a lot of physical energy. If you
can just be with someone. Just being

334
00:25:28,408 --> 00:25:30,998
with someone when they're struggling, is
one of the hardest things you can

335
00:25:31,004 --> 00:25:35,142
do as a nurse. And it's exactly
the same in fostering. If those children

336
00:25:35,196 --> 00:25:39,778
are struggling just being with them, being
there for them, having their back. If

337
00:25:39,804 --> 00:25:42,634
you can do that, then the rest
of it.

338
00:25:42,672 --> 00:25:43,014
Halfway.

339
00:25:43,062 --> 00:25:44,394
There you are.

340
00:25:44,512 --> 00:25:48,566
So, Kelvin, just know when you think
back, it took eight years for sue

341
00:25:48,598 --> 00:25:54,160
to persuade you. How glad are you
now that you finally gave in?

342
00:25:55,730 --> 00:26:02,706
I am glad. A number of reasons.
One, I

343
00:26:02,728 --> 00:26:09,490
know that sue would not be fulfilled
if she didn't have something like

344
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:16,502
fostering, and that it might not be
as easy

345
00:26:16,556 --> 00:26:23,174
a life, for want of better word.
So, yes, I'm glad that I did.

346
00:26:23,372 --> 00:26:29,754
And yes, I have lots of little.
I don't know where you call them

347
00:26:29,792 --> 00:26:35,494
wins, but when something occurs that they
do that, you say, wow, yes, there's

348
00:26:35,542 --> 00:26:42,058
lots of them. And that's what also
helps and motivates and

349
00:26:42,144 --> 00:26:43,340
pleases me.

350
00:26:43,810 --> 00:26:48,526
You've done things like building rabbit
hotches with them, haven't you? And they

351
00:26:48,548 --> 00:26:53,066
all call out with the screwdrivers and
the hammers and Averys.

352
00:26:53,178 --> 00:26:56,482
Yeah, because you've got lots of pets
as well, haven't you? We've not talked

353
00:26:56,536 --> 00:26:59,682
about that yet. Tell us about all
your animals that you have.

354
00:26:59,736 --> 00:27:05,118
Well, we accumulated the animals after the
children. We just had one dog, and

355
00:27:05,144 --> 00:27:11,814
then our youngest foster child was
struggling with the idea of nurture. She

356
00:27:11,852 --> 00:27:17,414
didn't understand why we were like we
were and why we sort of were

357
00:27:17,452 --> 00:27:22,866
able to give her things that she
needed when her own family didn't. So

358
00:27:22,908 --> 00:27:26,346
she started off with a budgie, one
budgie that was in the house. And

359
00:27:26,368 --> 00:27:29,446
then we had a couple of budgies
in the house, and then we ended

360
00:27:29,478 --> 00:27:33,326
up with an Avery, with eight budgies
outside. And now the six because two

361
00:27:33,348 --> 00:27:38,318
have been rehomed because the girl, one,
was a bit bossy with someone else.

362
00:27:38,484 --> 00:27:42,814
And then rabbits. We had ducks, and
they got rehomed because they're very

363
00:27:42,852 --> 00:27:47,614
mucky ducks, but they've got three rabbits
that they look after in a big

364
00:27:47,652 --> 00:27:52,334
run in the garden with hutches, and
that's an everyday thing. And we've also

365
00:27:52,372 --> 00:27:58,150
got two other dogs now. So we've
got three dogs. And part of their

366
00:27:58,220 --> 00:28:04,134
responsibilities are making sure that
those pets needs are met. And they

367
00:28:04,172 --> 00:28:08,594
get feedback from the pets when they
respond to the fact that the pets

368
00:28:08,642 --> 00:28:14,042
respond to them. Think pets are great
for you, get the cuddly bit. But,

369
00:28:14,096 --> 00:28:16,646
I mean, they may not be all
right for every child, but they've

370
00:28:16,678 --> 00:28:20,314
certainly made a big difference to our
children and to them learning about

371
00:28:20,352 --> 00:28:24,926
responsibility and about routine when
they've had a chaotic life, how important

372
00:28:25,028 --> 00:28:29,182
routines are, and keeping things simple.
Yeah.

373
00:28:29,316 --> 00:28:32,942
So just to finish off, what would
you both say the best things about

374
00:28:32,996 --> 00:28:34,240
fostering are.

375
00:28:38,070 --> 00:28:44,850
Is seeing the progress that both of
the

376
00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:51,654
young people have made in this time,
and it's visible progress. And I

377
00:28:51,692 --> 00:28:56,006
feel quite proud. I'm not sure what
I've done to get them that way,

378
00:28:56,108 --> 00:29:01,350
but I do feel proud that they've
achieved that with our help.

379
00:29:01,420 --> 00:29:01,702
Yeah.

380
00:29:01,756 --> 00:29:03,110
Sue, would you agree with that?

381
00:29:03,180 --> 00:29:08,854
I agree. And for me, the thing
that's best is that we love them

382
00:29:08,892 --> 00:29:14,960
and they love us, and that's the
rest of it. We can deal.

383
00:29:15,570 --> 00:29:16,270
Yeah.

384
00:29:16,420 --> 00:29:19,966
Sue and Kelvin, thank you so much
for your time today. You've been

385
00:29:19,988 --> 00:29:21,214
wonderful. Thank you.

386
00:29:21,332 --> 00:29:21,740
Thank you.