Bridget's story

For Bridget Davies, the secret to being a successful foster parent is never losing the sense of fun and wonder of being a child. 

A woman smiling with a harbour in the background

Turning a walk in the woods into a Harry Potter adventure or a trip to the beach into a search for pirate treasure can help a foster child begin to relax in their new home and learn to trust her. 

Despite being in her sixties, Bridget is not afraid to skip along the beach or balance on a log as she builds a relationship with a foster child who may have never learnt to play or socialise before they arrived on her doorstep in rural Ceredigion. 

A second vocation 

The retired nurse and grandmother has always loved welcoming children into her home, and when a nursing colleague suggested giving fostering a try, she discovered a second vocation. 

Giving children who may have had a tough start a stable family life has changed her life and the lives of those she has fostered. 

I absolutely love it. The children I’ve had have been awesome and seeing the changes in them has been so rewarding. In fact rewarding doesn’t begin to describe the feeling when you witness those special moments.

Bridget

She chose to foster primary age children long term and opted for boys because she still had a son living at home who she knew would be a good role model. When she began fostering in 2009, Bridget also had her late mother living with her too and felt that together, they could provide a child with a real sense of family values. 

With fields around them and the family’s established place in the community Bridget believed she could provide the all-important sense of stability for a child who may have suffered neglect or other trauma.  

A woman sitting in a chair

Her first child, Corey, stayed with them from 10 until 16 and still calls her Mum. She has now looked after three boys, each with their own challenges and rewards.  Each has become a special part of the family and her first two travelled with her to her sister’s home in Hong Kong for holidays. 

“Watching them experience the culture, boat trips, beaches and food eaten with chop sticks was a treasured, heart-warming experience for me. We can sometimes miss or take for granted the smaller details of life but seeing the boys savouring every aspect of life out there enriched my love of Hong Kong anew.”  

Fostering during lockdown 

Her latest foster child arrived at the age of 10 just before the first lockdown which meant that Bridget, her son and her foster child had to get used to living together 24 hours a day.  

“There was no school, no swimming or other outside activities and no appointments with professionals. I had to be a foster parent, teacher, social worker and nurse. The most important thing is that we got to know each other and built bonds of trust. 

Having a child to look after opens the eyes and adds to your life, they don’t take away from it.

Bridget

“We had our own little world but our foster child needed to interact with other children and fortunately my daughter and two of her children came to stay. That was amazing and he learnt to ride a bike, play football and play cards and board games. We also spent a lot of time out walking with the dogs which he loves,” said Bridget. 

Being a foster parent 

She has found that all her foster children have responded to her spontaneity and her ability to discover fun in everyday events, whether that’s turning a discarded branch into a Harry Potter wand or Star Wars light sabre, or seeing who can shout loudest or whisper the quietest when out in the woods. Simple things like learning to skim stones in the river or taking a picnic to the beach have also become opportunities to bond. 

“Having a foster child is about giving them lots of time, meeting their needs rather than trying to make them fit in with your life. I involve them in the everyday tasks of life, such as shopping for food so they feel part of the family, 

“Time is what they respond to best. I have found that every child I’ve cared for has been amazing but may not have had chance to show it in their past, they may have hidden it. Over time you discover their sense of humour and it certainly helps to have one of your own.” 

She says that taking on a foster child also opens up a whole new world in a foster parent’s local community as they get to know a school, maybe a church, and other parents and carers involved with clubs and activities.   

Bridget said: “A foster child may not have learnt to socialise in their past and to see them learn to play and start to make friends is so rewarding. 

There is a young person out there right now waiting for you to open your heart to them. You don’t need to be perfect to be a foster parent, you don’t need to be a brilliant teacher or speak five languages, you just need to help a child feel safe and noticed, that’s all it takes. They just want you.

Bridget

What it was like having Bridget as a foster mum

Corey Evans, now 24 and with a home and partner of his own, was just 10 when he moved in with his foster parent Bridget.

Swapping his urban upbringing for rural Ceredigion was a huge change for him. He knew no one and remembers that he was initially too shy to speak.  “It was a very different environment, and I was nervous, but within a couple of weeks it had become my home,” he said.

The reason for his rapid integration was his foster mum Bridget who he quickly recognised as “an amazing person”.

“Bridget always tells the story that on my third day we were out shopping, and I kept calling ‘Mother’, it took her a while to realise I was calling for her. She said it was okay for me to call her Mum and that made me feel I was already part of the family. Even after three days I was getting attached and I’ve called her Mum ever since,” said Corey.

He soon felt settled among the fields and assorted animals of his new home, but Bridget was the biggest influence.

She got me out of my shell and talking to people, she is the reason why I’m the person I am. I have the most fantastic memories of the most everyday things. We would go on walks where she would encourage my imagination to go absolutely wild. Most importantly, I was included in everything.

Corey

“Bridget wasn’t the strictest, but she taught me about manners and how to read. We would be out walking, and she would test me on my spelling, or she would sit and read with me. I was always more of an outdoors kid and would like visiting the horses or running around outside, but she made sure I spent time reading too.

“Her entire family came together to make it homely. Her mum was a big part of my life, and her son was like a big brother to me, we would play football and pool.

“I loved the dogs, big Rhodesian Ridgebacks who would come and lie down by my side and wouldn’t leave me. Having them around really helped as if was upset I could smooth the dogs and they would be a comfort.”

Corey left Bridget’s when he went to college at 16 but is still very close to her. “Bridget’s always been there for me, and she gave me a second shot at life, a good life, and I’ll always be grateful to her for that,” he said.

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