Article: Who can foster Article Body Like any job, fostering requires certain skills and qualities…. Being a foster carer isn't easy. It requires dedication and a lot of energy. Foster carers work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Children and young people with troubled pasts may display difficult behaviour, from tantrums to stealing and running away. Foster carers need to provide consistency and security during difficult times. It is a challenging job demanding a commitment to children and young people. Our foster carers need these skills: listening skills - do you hear and understand what children and adults are saying to you? optimism - are you able to look on the bright side when times get tough? confidence - can you handle difficult situations without feeling out of your depth? patience - can you persevere even when you don't seem to be getting immediate results? stability - do you have a welcoming home and could you make children feel safe and secure? team player - can you share responsibility and work together with others, and ask for help and support when you need it? observational skills - can you see what is really going on beneath the surface? energetic - are you full of energy and life? communication skills - do you get on well talking in groups and with children? Can you speak on behalf of others and negotiate? sense of humour - can you see the funny side of life? So, foster carers don't need to have their own house, or be a couple, or have children of their own. What matters are your qualities and your commitment to children and young people. We don't have set age limits, but you need to be mature enough and have the life experience to take on the responsibilities of fostering. You will need to be in reasonable health and a medical is part of the assessment process. Anyone who has been convicted of a sexual offence or a violent act towards a child will not be able to foster. If you have other criminal convictions from the past, you will need to discuss them with us and they will not necessarily disqualify you from fostering.