2 August 2022
by DK
What Foster Parents Are Not Allowed to Do
Discover the most surprising things that you can’t do with a foster child. This will help you understand your role as a foster carer and avoid any unwanted scenario where you are disqualified from foster care because of something you could have avoided.
Did you know that birth parents and foster carers don’t share the same rights over children? Well, this might come as a surprise but there are certain things you cannot do with a child if you are a foster carer.
Surprising things foster carers cannot do
1. Change names of foster children
You are not permitted to change the first or last names of foster children. Whether you are having the child temporarily or long-term, you must preserve their identity by retaining their names.
Remember, the aim of fostering is not to make the child yours but rather to provide a safe living environment with an ultimate goal for the child to return home to birth parents. Therefore, it is of significant importance that you preserve their identity.

2. Change their appearance
Similar to the limitation on changing names, as a foster carer, you cannot alter the appearance of a foster child without direct consent from birth parents or consultation with a social worker.
Some things like ear piercing may sound simple but you need approval before implementing it. Even tiny issues like changing their hairstyles or cutting their hair are not permissible under UK law.
Even when the child is requesting a new hairstyle, you are under an obligation not to interfere with the hairstyle they came with. You can contact us or a social worker attached to the child for clarification if you think it is necessary to change their hairstyles.

3. Share their faces on social media
Unlike your children, foster children cannot be shared on social media platforms. It is a reminder that you are not the birth parent of the child and you cannot show their faces in public.
You may have noticed foster carers placing emojis on the faces of foster children when they are included in a family photo. Whilst the law prohibits the display of faces and names for public consumption, we advise foster carers to avoid any form of publication with a foster child.
4. Deny them vaccination
You could be an anti-vaccine; well, that’s within your rights. However, you cannot extend this belief to a foster child. It doesn’t matter your belief about vaccines’ safety, you are under obligation to present them to a medical facility to be vaccinated when need be.
How about when the birth parents don’t want their child vaccinated? Still, it is not up to you to decide – a state judge will rule on this matter. Therefore, you should be keen on the vaccination schedule and inform your attached social worker of any arising situation.
5. Leave them with unapproved babysitters
It is perfectly fine for you to leave a foster child under the care of a daycare service provider, so long as they are approved.
It is against the law to leave a foster child in the hands of a babysitter who is not approved by the authorities. This could lead to the foster child being taken away from your care.
6. Leave them without adult supervision
Babies and toddlers must be left at home with full adult supervision. Child protection law is explicit about this. You have a further obligation to ensure that the adult has no criminal record.
According to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, you cannot leave children under 16 to stay alone overnight.
Please ensure that you talk to a social worker about leaving a child even for short periods.
7. Initiate or allow co-sleeping arrangements
You are once again reminded that a foster child is not your child. To that effect, you cannot initiate co-sleeping arrangements with a foster in your home with anyone in your family.
Regardless of the age of the child, they must sleep alone in their room. This is why you must have a spare bedroom before we allow you to foster a child.
8. Travel overseas with them without permission
It’s perfect if you are thinking about a holiday with a foster child overseas; it is a way of keeping the child happy in your hands. However, don’t think that it is easy for you to travel with the child overseas.
You will need multiple permissions from authorities and social workers to effect this. If the child doesn’t have a passport, it will take a different turn to process his/her passport as a foster child.
If you are moving out of the UK to work in another country, you will have to leave the child behind.
9. Publish their names or photos in newspaper articles
The foster child under your care should not be published in newspaper articles. If a local newspaper is writing a story, you can’t be part of it by sharing names or photos of foster children under your care.
You can share your experiences about fostering provided you don’t mention the names explicitly or implicitly. The child must be protected from public scrutiny.
10. Allow them to engage in dangerous activities
A foster child under your care is not allowed to partake in any activity that is deemed as dangerous. So, next time you receive an invitation to skiing or ice-skating, be reminded that a prior risk assessment needs to be done to affirm that the activity is not dangerous.
If they feel confident that they can engage in these activities, please contact us immediately and we will send a social worker to assess and guide your next move. Otherwise, as it stands, you should not grant permission for a child to participate in such activities.
Why are foster carers restricted?
For obvious reasons, foster carers are restricted because the government is concerned about the overall safety and wellbeing of the child.
It is for this reason that the UK government issued formal guidance on how to handle children in foster care to avoid things such as sexual abuse.
Under this guidance, you cannot hug or cuddle a child under foster care.

Conclusion
We understand that foster carers, out of their love for foster children, may unknowingly break some of these rules. Still, the law doesn’t permit them. This is why we often advise foster carers to contact us at any time with queries about what is allowed and what is not allowed.
Don’t be frightened to start your fostering journey because of these limitations; they are simple and work to make your life easy to manage as a foster carer.