“I always tell people I have eight daughters”: Sarah and Chris share their experiences of fostering

Sarah, 46, and Chris, 60, from Anglesey, began their journey as foster parents when they stepped in to help one of their daughter’s friends when she needed to go into emergency care. That experience inspired them to find out more about fostering, so they went to a Barnardo’s open evening. They applied to become foster parents, and soon after they were approved, they welcomed three siblings – aged 12, 6, and 22 months – into their home.

Chris explained, “It was hard work but good fun, we just got on with it. They integrated so well, and our wider families made them very welcome which has been so important.” 

The joys and challenges of raising eight daughters  

With two biological daughters and six who came through the care system, he treats them all the same. Some have now grown up and had families of their own.

“I always tell people I have eight daughters and nine grandchildren. They all call us Mum and Dad and give back so much love. Yes, we have had strops and teenage tantrums over the years, but I wouldn’t change anything. If we had 14 or 15 bedrooms in the house, we would fill them all,” he said. 

Chris and Sarah say they have had “tremendous support” from Barnardo’s and the charity’s social workers have always been at the end of the phone when needed.

“Some of the girls have taken longer to trust and we are not always perfect; but we are open with the girls, we say sorry, and we learn. It instils in them the knowledge that it’s okay to make mistakes,” he said. 

The family live close to the beach and regularly pack a picnic and just go out litter picking. Basic things like visiting the beach or reading a book which most people take for granted can be magical for children not familiar with such things. 

“When our three siblings arrived, they had never been on the sand before. One of our children hated books when she arrived but absolutely loves them now. It’s the simple things that are so important,” said Chris. 

“They are part of our family" 

To anyone questioning whether fostering is for them, Sarah said, “We probably thought we couldn’t do it at the time. But we don’t think of it as fostering, they are part of our family, it’s just been about bringing up an extended family and we treat them no differently to Chris’ biological daughters. 

“I would say that it’s important to talk through the idea of fostering within your family as you need a network of support. We’ve had that both from family members and from other foster parents who we’ve met through Barnardo’s. We meet up once a month with another couple who foster and that has been great.