Synonyms and antonyms of Adoption and caring for other people's children in British Thesaurus

adopt (verb)

to take someone else’s child into your family and legally make him or her your own child

adopted (adjective)

legally made a part of a family that is not your original family

adopter (noun)

someone who adopts a child

adoption (noun)

the process of making a child legally part of your family, or an instance of this

adoption agency (noun)

an organization or business that helps to find children for people to adopt

adoptive (adjective)

adoptive parents are people who have adopted a child

au pair (noun)

someone, especially a young woman, who lives with a family in a foreign country and helps with the children and housework in exchange for the opportunity to learn the language

babysit (verb)

to look after children in their home while their parents are not there, especially in the evening

babysitter (noun)

someone you pay to come to your house and look after your children while you are not there, especially in the evening

babysitter (noun)

American a childminder

Barnardo’s ()

a British organization that looks after children who have no parents or who come from poor families

care (noun)

in the UK, the system in which local government looks after children whose parents are either dead or not able to look after them themselves

care order (noun)

a legal arrangement in the UK for the local Social Services to look after a child instead of the child’s parents

chaperone (noun)

American a parent or teacher who goes to a school dance or other event to help to look after the children

childcare (noun)

the job of looking after children, especially while their parents are working

Childline ()

an organization in the UK that children who are being badly treated can telephone for help

childminder (noun)

British someone whose job is to look after children while their parents are at work, usually in his or her own home

children’s home (noun)

a place where children can be sent to live if they cannot live with their family

crèche (noun)

British a place where babies and small children are looked after while their parents are busy

day care (noun)

mainly American childcare

foster (verb)

to look after a child as part of your family for a period of time because the child’s parents cannot look after them

foster (adjective)

relating to fostering a child. A child who is looked after in someone else’s home for a period of time is called a foster child, and the people who look after the child are called foster parents

guardian (noun)

someone who is legally responsible for another person such as a child whose parents have died

in loco parentis (adverb)

if an adult acts in loco parentis to a child who is not their child, they take responsibility for looking after that child

legitimize (verb)

to officially make an illegitimate child legitimate

looked-after (adjective)

used to describe children who are in care (= looked after by local government because their parents are either dead or not able to look after them themselves)

nanny (noun)

a woman whose job is to look after someone else’s children. A nanny usually lives with the family that she works for.

nannying (noun)

British the job of being a nanny

the NSPCC ()

The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children: an organization in the UK that protects children from being treated badly

nurse (noun)

old-fashioned a woman whose job is to look after a young child

nursemaid (noun)

old-fashioned a woman whose job is to look after someone’s children in their home

nursery nurse (noun)

British someone with special training whose job is to look after small children

playscheme (noun)

British a place where children do sports and other activities during school holidays

sit (verb)

informal to babysit

sitter (noun)

informal a babysitter

supervision order (noun)

British a court order that says that a child must be looked after by a social worker

ward (noun)

legal someone, especially a child, who is officially being looked after by a court of law or by someone who is not their parents. The person who looks after them is their guardian

watch (verb)

to take care of a child, an animal, or someone’s property for a short time and make sure that nothing harms it