Young Mum Inspired to Foster After Her Parents' Success as Carers

A young mum has spoken of the inspiration her parents gave her to become a foster carer for the first time after they successfully fostered themselves as she was growing up.
Emily Ahren pic 1
A young mum has spoken of the inspiration her parents gave her to become a foster carer for the first time after they successfully fostered themselves as she was growing up.
 
Emily Ahrens, 26, from Wigan, has successfully fostered two children with Chorley-based Family Care Group since she first decided to become a carer two years ago and says her own experience as a child with her parents directly inspired to take up fostering.
 
Emily Ahren pic
 
Speaking during National Children Of Foster Carers Week, Emily found that her own childhood being part of a fostering household gave her the necessary drive to become a foster carer herself.
 
Emily said: “I was really fortunate to grow up in a home where sharing your time with foster children was very much a natural thing, thanks to my parents taking that step to become carers. It definitely made a positive impression on me, and when I became an adult myself, I felt inspired to try and do the same thing.
 “In my case, it also helped that the family of my partner, Mason, have fostered previously as well, so the transition for us to become carers ourselves has felt like a really natural one”.
 
Emily has also found time to become a mum to two children of her own, both before and during her time as a carer and says that fostering around having a family of her own has proved a welcome challenge.
 
Emily adds: “People have been surprised when I tell them that I am fostering while raising a family of my own, but for me it is extremely satisfying as I am able to experience the joys of being a mum while also being able to care for other children who need my help and support at the same time.
 “It is something that comes from my own experience growing up with my parents, and I’m hopeful that maybe one day my own children may be inspired to take up fostering just as I have.”
 
Children of Foster Carers' Week (13 - 19 October 2025) is The Fostering Network’s annual campaign to celebrate the vital contribution the children of foster carers make to foster care.
 
Each October, fostering services across the UK look to recognise the children of foster carers for the important role they play in their home, making children in care feel happier, welcome, safer and more loved. 
 
Chorley-based Family Care Group, which has been providing vital fostering care and support for young people in Lancashire since 1988, is keen to attract more young adults in the region to think about becoming a foster carer and making that all-important difference to a young person’s life
Hannah Makin, Registered Manager for Fostering with Family Care Group, said:
“Growing up in a home where fostering is part of your everyday life can help you appreciate just how much benefit it can bring to a young person’s life, making them feel loved and improving their self-confidence.
 
“That’s why we have found that adults whose parents have welcomed a foster child into their home in the past can make such good foster carers themselves, as they have that ready-made understanding. We would encourage anyone who has that background to think seriously about fostering themselves. It can make a huge difference to a child’s life and be incredibly rewarding for you.”

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