Foster Care and Farming

As farms around the county unlock their gates for Open Farm Day on May 2, now seems a good time to focus on the farmers out there who foster. We spoke to one who tells us the magic of rearing children and animals…

Running a farm is no easy task, but when you combine that with fostering three children, as well as having two of your own, well it’s enough to make most people’s heads spin.

Which is why farming couple Caroline and Brendan, who hail from the Midlands, are a rare breed, cows aside.

When the couple returned to Ireland from America in 1998 to run Brendan’s family farm, they built a home for themselves and a whole new life. First came their son (now 20 and studying for an apprenticeship), then came their daughter (who is doing a nursing degree).

But even with two children, 80 cows and 70 acres, something was missing.

‘I always wanted to foster – to give a child a home; I just love children,” says Caroline. “It was the first thing I said to Brendan when we came back from the States.”

The couple became foster parents to two sisters, aged 17 months and seven months. Later, Caroline and Brendan would also foster a third child (who was just three weeks’ old when they got her).

But how did their own children react to the new arrivals?

“Our son was so excited. They stayed up the whole night before the arrival. Grannies, brothers all helped get the place ready; it was great,” she says.

Now, the sisters are 12 and 13 years old, and all three children are unquestionably part of the family – so much so that Caroline and Brendan are in the process of formally adopting them.

But what is it like to combine such onerous undertakings as fostering and farming? Was it a culture shock for the children when they first arrived?

“The girls were so young when they came here; they have grown up on the farm. We changed over from suckler to dairying when the girls came along, so it was all a new experience for everyone.”

And farming has proved to be a great learning ground for the children, according to Caroline.

“There’s always something to be done. They help in the house and on the farm – in January and February we had 60 cows calving – the calves have to be fed twice a day, so it’s full-on.”

Growing up on a farm has instilled a great sense of responsibility in the children.

“It makes them appreciate things more – they see the effort that goes into producing something,” Caroline says.

The girls clearly love the routine – the 13-year-old has already expressed her wish to be a farmer when she’s older, but Caroline isn’t counting her chickens (or her cows) just yet.

“She’s young and may change her mind, and that’s fine.”

The family’s social worker, Claire Keane, who Caroline says is “fantastic and very understanding”, says of the child: “Brendan regularly updates me on how capable she is and how she can remember

each cow from sight despite the vast number of cows they tend to. It is so lovely to see him and this young child so interested and involved in this together.”

The enthusiasm for farm life also stretches to the youngest child, who is three.

Claire says: “[She] rules the house. She regularly demands a tour of her empire and goes to see the farm and cows. She had some pet goats and brought them in to her preschool so all the children could see. She managed the goats and advised the children to be careful with them.

“Farming has posed no difficulty to their fostering and vice versa.”

Farms are dangerous places and, despite the children’s willingness to help, Caroline and Brendan are very cautious to make sure they don’t go into harm’s way.

“We never let the girls go into the shed alone with the cows – a cow could easily trample a child; the girls are well warned and know not to go there,” adds Caroline.

For those who think that being a farmer who fosters is just too big an ask, Caroline has this to say: “There are loads of people around here who could foster kids but might be put off at the thought of it. My idea of fostering is that the kids are part of the family from the start, so there is not fostering or farming, both are part of the same thing.”

Thanks to the support of her Tusla, Caroline says that combining fostering and farming has turned out to be a great move.

“Farming and children… you couldn’t get a better life.”

There are 3,984 foster carers who currently open their homes to 5,265 children in communities across the country. They play a critical role in the child protection system and ultimately a key role in the wellbeing of children and young people.

To find out more about becoming a foster carer, see fostering.ie, call freephone 1800 226 771 or email tusla.fostering@tusla.ie.