Fosterage

This page is about the (sometimes historical) social practice of children being raised by families not their own. For the modern child welfare system of placing children in state custody in the homes of foster parents, see Foster care.

Fosterage is an arrangement in which a child is brought up with a family that is not their own. It is different from foster care, which is a legal arrangement made for a child's safety. Fosterage can describe many different arrangements according to the society they belong to. In many parts of the world there are societies where the children do not live with their parents. This may be linked to the society's special way of life.