A Happy Family

The Questions You Need to Ask a Foster Care Agency

>> Feb 23, 2016

Deciding to become a foster parent is an exciting though often overwhelming decision. Being a foster parent is incredibly rewarding, but it is important to be working with the right foster care agency to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

The foster care agency will interview you and other people in your household prior to approving you to become a foster carer with their agency.At the same time, you should interview the agency yourself and ask the following:

image:essexfostering.co.uk

How Many Children Have You Received Funding For?

Some less reputable foster care agencies will recruit more foster care parents than they are approved to take children for. This means that you or other foster parents may be left with empty homes for months, if not years, because the agency does not have foster children available for care.

What Age Is the Agency Approved to Care for?

Not all foster care agencies are able to take on children in every age group. Some may only be approved to care for children 0 to 12 years of age, while others may only care for teens. Agencies like Quality Foster Care Ltd are able to care for children anywhere from 0 to 18 years old.

If you are a potential foster parent who is interested in caring for infants and babies, then you may need to do additional homework to find these agencies. Many agencies do not place infants and babies with foster parents because of the level of care required.

How Long Is the Assessment Period?

Foster parents are understandably eager to start the assessment period so that they can begin looking after children. The assessment period is typically six months or so and will be conducted by a well-trained caseworker. If the assessment phase is going to take nine months or longer, then it may be a sign that the agency is overloaded.

Helping Your Child Heal a Broken Leg

Playing football with friends, running by the pool and climbing trees are just some of the things all the children like to do. But the harder they play the harder they might get injured. You can take your look away from your child for just a minute and he might end up getting injured. One of the most common injuries with children is a leg fracture. Depending on how bad the fracture is a child may have some trouble dealing with a broken leg and it is up to you make his healing process as easy as possible. And here is how to do it.

Talk to the doctor

First of all, the most important thing is to talk to a doctor who treated your child at the hospital. He will tell you how bad the fracture is and what you can do to make the healing process easier for your child. He will also tell you whether your child can walk on that leg. There is a special shoe that prevents the cast from breaking when a child with a broken leg is allowed to walk. On the other hand if he is not allowed, you will be provided with crutches or a walker at the hospital. If your child gets crutches make sure you help him learn how to use them. You might also consider renting a wheelchair.

Prepare your home

Having a broken leg means that your child is going to spend some time at home. What you should do is try to make it as suitable for him. Remove all the rugs and electrical cords which might make it even harder for him to walk with crutches or a walker. Make sure you also make the bed as comfortable as possible. There should be a pillow or two that will elevate your child’s leg during the night as elevation can help reduce swelling. Bring a TV into his room if there is no one already and prepare a bunch of DVDs that will keep your child entertained. Try some other activities that will take their mind away from the fracture as well.

Keep a close eye on the leg

Monitoring the leg and checking cast is going to be another thing you will have to do. Help your child take a bath without getting a vast wet. If the cast gets wet, it can lead to a skin irritation. Also make sure that your child does not put anything on the cast. Look for the signs of skin irritation and bruises and if you notice something strange, contact the doctor. If your child uses walker or a cast shoe make sure you check those regularly. If it gets broken or damaged you should get a new one immediately. If you are looking for medical supplies in Sydney there are local companies you can turn to.

As a parent, it is up to you to make sure that the whole healing process goes without any troubles and that your child gets well as soon as possible. Spend as much time as you can play with your child in order to make the whole process much easier on him.

5 Information That Can Save Your Kid's Life

Keeping your kid safe is the most important thing you have to do. Still, you cannot keep your eye on him 24/7. That is why you should make sure your kid has all the important information in case of an emergency. Here are 5 things your kid always has to know.

Where the nearest police station is

First of all, you should teach your kid to turn to the police if anything bad happens. For example if he gets attacked or lost. He may not always have the access to a phone and that is why it is important for him to be able to locate the nearest police station. What you should do is show your kid where the police station is and tell him that is the place to go first if anything happens. You should also show him how to get there from some other locations like school or park.

How to contact emergency services

If your kid stays home alone a lot you should of course teach him which appliance he is allowed to use. Make sure he stays away from the oven and iron. Even if your kid does not get in contact with any of these, he should still be aware of the fire department contact information just in case. Have the fire department number written down somewhere near the phone so he can find it quickly if in need call. There are also 24 hour emergency cares your kid should know how to contact in case something happens. Tell your child that every country has a different set of emergency numbers and that he should only use those you have written down.

A code word

A code word should be something you and your kid will use to confirm messages or rides with other adults. For example if someone else has to pick up your kid and the kid does not know about the arrangement have the adult say him the code word so he knows he is allowed to go with them. Make sure your kid knows he should not go anywhere with the adults who do not know the code word. Pick a code word only you kid will know and make sure the word is easy to remember.

Your contact information

In case your kid gets lost he should also be able to contact you as soon as possible. That is why it is necessary for him to know your home address as well as your home number. Tell your kid to call you if any type of emergency occurs. Make sure he knows both your cell and work number just in case. He should also know the work location of both parents so he could get there if he cannot reach phone.

How to act near animals

Kids may not always know how dangerous some animals can be. That is why you should teach them how to act around animals. Even though most of the kids love dogs you should make sure your kid knows he should not get in contact with stray dogs as these might be dangerous. He should also know how to protect himself from stray dogs. If you live in a place like Florida your kid should be aware of the places where there might be crocodiles and stay away from those.

All of these information can save your kid’s life in case of an emergency. That is why you should make sure your kid is aware of all of them. You can also role play an emergency so you can see how your kid would act in such a situation.

Related article: How to track an android phone and keep your children safe.

Using a waste removal company before working on your garden

The Quality of Communication From a Waste Removal Company

image:mapwaste.co.uk

Clearing out properties from junk and other sort of wastes is a very tedious and time-consuming task if you are doing it yourself. If you hire a waste removal company though, you will be surprised to know that they give great value in their communication with their clients. The quality of communication that can be received from these demolishion companies stems from the fact that they hire great people that have the social skills to make sure their customers are at ease at all times. This is very important because most clients really want a company that can make them feel involved and open to new ideas. Waste removal is an area that is quite needing of this sort of quality because there are a lot of aspects about removing junk and garbage that will need the input of the person or company that hired for that service. The quality of communication from these companies sure are top notch as with our waste removal we received from Leicestershire company Map Waste, they were able to removal all of the builders waste from our garden without having to really do much. They were able to tell us the day they would be there and arrived promptly. Could not fault them in anyway.

Dress-Up Your Backyard and Enjoy Gardening

I called my brother and told him that I need some demolishion work done in my backyard. We have not used the shed located at the far end of our property for a long time now. It used to hold all my gardening tools and my planting implements. But when I got a job as a medical representative, I traveled a lot and I was not able to tend my plants anymore. But now that I quit my job, I plan on reviving my garden. I need some waste removal service to take out all the bags of fertilizer and soil that I can no longer use. When they are done with that, the guys that my brother sent can start with the demolishion job. Then I can start replanting some potted plants and my seedbeds for my herb garden. It will be great to have plants ready to bloom come summer time.