PRAISE and positivity are the top tips for fostering success according to a couple who live near Wellington who foster teenagers.

Husband-and-wife foster parents, Eve, 45, and Matt, 41, have been married for ten years and live with Eve’s daughter Sophie, 25, two dogs, Clifford and Gus, and their talkative parrot, Bella.

Eve and Matt, originally from Birmingham and Dorset, have been fostering teenagers non-stop for nearly six years and “absolutely love it”.

Eve said: “Both my and Matt’s backgrounds are completely different and we feel we have been through a lot in our own personal circumstances. I was brought up with quite a lot of domestic violence around me. I was in women’s refuges and went to five secondary schools.

“I can really relate to the children, and what it’s like to have nothing, so I can deal with it and a lot of things that crop up. There’s always something new that comes to the table when it comes to fostering young people but nothing fazes us.”

Matt added: “We can relate to most circumstances the children have found themselves in. A lot of children who have come into care, we find, do not have father figures. I’ve not seen my dad for 23 years, so I can talk to them about it, which helps them open up about their own situations.”

Their parrot Bella is a crucial part of their fostering dynamic, with her chirpy exclamations helping to break the ice when a nervous young addition to the household arrives – even singing and dancing along to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Golden retrievers Clifford and Gus, meanwhile, offer the young people a soppy source of comfort when they need it. “Sophie is really good with the kids, too,” said Eve. “She’s like a big sister to them.”

Somerset County Council seeks ordinary people who can offer a safe, stable home to a child over ten or a teenager unable to live with their birth families. These children and young people may have complex circumstances, experienced abuse or neglect, or have parents unable to care for them. They need enthusiastic, resilient and supportive foster carers or foster families to be there for them.

To find out more about fostering, visit www.fosteradoptsomerset.org.uk or phone 0800 5879900 or go along to the next information event on Monday, December 11, 7pm-9pm, at the Wessex Hotel in Street BA16 0EF.