surrogate parent
Fills parental role
A surrogate parent is someone who takes on parental responsibilities for a child not biologically their own, whether temporarily or permanently.
The term covers foster parents, legal guardians, and relatives stepping in when parents are absent or incapable: Her grandmother became her surrogate parent after the accident.
In educational and legal contexts, a surrogate parent may be formally appointed to advocate for a child's interests.
- adoptiveLegally taking as one's own
- caretakerOne who maintains property
- in loco parentisIn place of parents
- guardianProtective caretaker of another
- kinship careRelatives raising displaced children
custodian · stand-in · legal custody · nurturer · father · mother · child welfare · court-appointed guardian · childcare · orphan · maternal · nanny · ward · placement · proxy · child advocacy · father figure · mother figure
- familymother, father, siblings, son, brother
- expecting parentsexpectant father, pregnant woman
- extended familyaunt, uncle, grandparents, grandparent, great aunt
- protectorsprotector, guardian, guard, sentinel, keeper
- child custodychild custody, custody order, shared custody, sole custody, joint custody
surrogate parentbiological parent
One who conceived offspring
birth parent · birth mother · biological mother · biological father · natural parent
surrogate parentadoptive parent
One who legally claims another's child
parent, parents, parenting, parental, surrogate, parentage, parenthood, surrogacy, surrogates