foster parents
Loading your saved state.
foster parents
Adult people who take a child who is not their biological child into their family for a certain period of time or permanently and care for them. They take on parental responsibility without having adopted the child.
Das Mädchen wuchs bei liebevollen Pflegeeltern auf, nachdem es aus seiner Herkunftsfamilie genommen wurde.
The girl grew up with loving foster parents after she was removed from her family of origin.
The word is made up of 'Pflege' (care/fostering) and 'Eltern' (parents). It literally means 'parents who give care' and describes their function of looking after a child.
Die Pflegeeltern geben dem Kind ein stabiles und sicheres Zuhause.
The foster parents give the child a stable and safe home.
'Pflegeeltern' (foster parents) is part of a semantic field. It also includes 'das Pflegekind' (the foster child), 'die Pflegefamilie' (the foster family), and 'die Pflegschaft' (the legal guardianship relationship).
Das Jugendamt sucht dringend eine neue Pflegefamilie für den Jungen.
The youth welfare office is urgently looking for a new foster family for the boy.
The word is almost always used in the plural. When talking about the place where a child lives, you use the preposition 'bei' with the dative: 'bei seinen Pflegeeltern aufwachsen' (to grow up with one's foster parents).
Er hat einen großen Teil seiner Kindheit bei seinen Pflegeeltern verbracht.
He spent a large part of his childhood with his foster parents.
guardian
'der Vormund' and 'die Pflegeeltern' can both be important in a child's life when the biological parents cannot take care of everything themselves. A 'Vormund' mainly has a legal role: he represents the child and makes certain decisions. 'Pflegeeltern' take a child into their family and care for the child in everyday life. The words can be confused because both have to do with care for a child. In practical terms: 'Vormund' emphasizes legal responsibility, while 'Pflegeeltern' emphasizes living and growing up in a family.
Seit einem Jahr lebt das Kind bei seinen Pflegeeltern in einer kleinen Stadt.
The child has been living with his foster parents in a small town for a year.
Bei wichtigen Entscheidungen spricht die Schule mit dem Vormund des Jungen.
For important decisions, the school speaks with the boy's guardian.