Weekend and holiday fostering: 'We need to break the stigma'

When a child's life is disrupted by difficult circumstances, temporary fostering can offer a vital glimpse of hope.

During the summer, when school is out, many children living in residential care are welcomed into foster homes.

Some adults who aren't able to commit to long-term fostering choose to offer care on weekends or during holidays to, as they say, "offer a chance" to a child.

"People say these children are troubled and have baggage. Of course they do; they're in a children’s home and have experienced situations that no child should ever have to go through," explains Isabel, who fosters children on weekends and holidays.

Isabel says her motivation to foster came from a desire to "contribute to society" through something personal and directly related to children, something more meaningful than just making donations.

"We were a perfect match. He is a sweet, lovely, fantastic, curious and calm child who is very eager to become part of the family," she adds.

Xavier and Maite, another foster couple, turned to fostering after experiencing a complicated pregnancy that ended in loss. It led them to explore new ways of building a family.

"After our first Christmas together, we asked her what she had liked most about those days. We thought she would say the presents, but she said what she enjoyed most was the family dinners,” they share.

A common theme in these experiences is that what foster children appreciate most are the simple, everyday moments.

"At first, we would take them shopping, to theme parks, and do fun and cultural activities, things they don’t often get the chance to do," Isabel explains. 

However, over time, Isabel started incorporating him into everyday life at home. "I realized that what they value most are the simple, daily routines: setting the table, going to the supermarket, choosing the menu, deciding what to eat, and cooking together," Isabel explains.

Foster parents are calling for the stigma surrounding these children to end, emphasizing that what they need is simply a chance.

"There’s often a misconception that they might be a bad influence or not the 'ideal child,' the picture-perfect kid everyone imagines. But these stereotypes do nothing to help them. They’re not to blame for what they've been through," Xavi and Maite explain. 

"Many have faced situations most children can’t even imagine, and they have the same right as any other child to experience life fully. What they need is an opportunity,” Xavier and Maite say.

In Catalonia, around 8,000 children are under state care. Half live in residential centers, while the other half are in long-term foster families.

According to Elena Lledós, director of the Catalan Institute for Fostering and Adoption, 119 families currently foster 133 children during weekends or holidays.

She says at least 100 more families are needed to “give more opportunities” to children in residential care.

"These children are no different from others," Lledós explains. "They just can’t live with their birth families right now and need help returning to a home environment."