Becoming a foster parent: Information, offers and providers at a glance

There are currently around 15,000 foster children living in Switzerland. Most of them do not have an easy past and were at least temporarily in a vulnerable situation. Some of them have also experienced impairments, major losses or drastic deficits, and most of them have suffered major injuries from their past relationships. Many of these children have not been able to cope with important developmental tasks in their past. They express this suffering and the resulting excessive demands in their own, sometimes difficult, way. Such children and young people need a home that gives them a sense of security and caregivers who are reliably there for them. Taking in one or more foster children is a huge task that requires a lot of energy, responsibility and numerous resources. Couples who would like to become foster parents should have a stable relationship, good social skills, plenty of time on their hands and generally have a lot of love and patience for children and young people. Training in the social or educational field is also an advantage. However, since many couples who want to become foster parents have no training in these areas, various associations offer helpful courses on the subject of foster children. These courses cover important topics such as social pedagogy, attachment theory and developmental psychology. Inner attitudes, crises and crisis interventions, participation, difficult parenting situations, de-escalation, conducting conversations, the needs of children and young people, dealing with resistance, feedback, trauma, psychiatric disorders, personality development, mental hygiene and many other exciting and relevant topics are also discussed in a course for foster parents. Such a course provides participants with confidence, which is very important when dealing with children and young people.

Would you like to become a foster parent or have you already taken in one or more children and would like to deepen your specialist knowledge? Then find out about the latest courses on offer in your region and order free, non-binding information brochures directly from Ausbildung-Weiterbildung.ch!