Let's make allowances for the costs of fostering

9 January 2012 1 min read John Freeman Social Care Fostering and adoption

Almost all of us love our children - even though they are occasionally difficult, temperamental or just obstreperous. We love them for what they are, whether that includes abilities or disabilities, and we would not have it any other way. Of all I have done, I am proudest of my children and what they have achieved - although, of course, it was not just me!

I have always failed to comprehend, emotionally, the pressures that can lead to child abuse. I know there is a strong link to drug and alcohol abuse, and to a family history of abuse, but I don’t pretend to understand it. However, I can see why straightforward grinding poverty can lead to parents feeling totally unable to cope, leading to everything from increased suicide rates and abandoning or giving children up.

In Greece, which has now been through four straight years of recession, and with massive unemployment and squeezed benefits, there are an increasing number of parents who are simply giving up their children to charities or even abandoning them entirely.

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