Single Dad Says He's The 'Lucky' One For Getting To Care For Six Adopted Special Needs Children

Oct 13, 2022 by apost team

Adoption often becomes difficult for single adults and even less likely for unmarried men due to problematic stereotypes surrounding them and their ability to raise children without the presence of a motherly figure.

This obstacle, however, didn’t stop 37-year-old Ben Carpenter from West Yorkshire, England, from adopting five children with disabilities. His family might not be a very conventional one, but Carpenter said he wouldn’t rule out adopting even more children in the future.

The full-time father has five children under his care at the moment, all between the ages of 3 and 14. Joseph has Down syndrome, Lily is deaf and her sister Ruby has Pierre Robin Syndrome along with limited use of her arms due to missing bones since birth. The oldest in the bunch is Jack and he has autism.

Over the years, Carpenter has adopted more children than the ones listed above. However, he sadly went through some hardships. While Carpenter has proven to be a wonderful father and deeply cares for each of the children he takes in, some circumstances are unavoidable and result in heartache. The father lost one of his adopted children, Noah, in 2019. 

He was determined to keep his heart open, though, and do what he could to continue helping kids with functional needs and disabilities. Since then, Carpenter has adopted one more child, making his total number of adopted kids six. It’s easy to see why this man is considered a superdad, even though he wouldn’t label himself that way. Read on to find out more about Carpenter and his inspiring family.

The father explained that at the age of 21, he worked at a residential school for people with disabilities, which gave him the experience he required to be able to look after his children:

"Even at the age of 21, I knew I wanted to be a father as soon as possible – I may have only been young but I've always had an old head on my shoulders. I was convinced with me being single as well that they wouldn't take me seriously – but I was over the moon when they did. Due to previously working with disabled adults and children, I knew it was only right for me to adopt a disabled child because I knew I'd be able to care for them properly."

The idea of adoption first came to him when he saw an advert from the local adoption of social services searching for potential adoptive parents.

“...I thought, well, they're not going to want me as a single guy," Carpenter shared. "But I told them who I was and where I worked and they were really positive and quite enthusiastic about me adopting a child."

Although the 37-year-old always knew he wanted to be a father, he never cared for having biological children. He explained that there is much more to a parent's relationship with their children than just a “biological link.”

According to the Daily Mail, Carpenter has adopted six kids over the years, but sadly lost his son Noah in 2019. He is grateful for his five children. “They are the most wonderful children, you know people say ‘the children are lucky to have you’ but I’m so lucky to have them,” he said. “They enrich my life in every way.”

apost.com

What do you think of the Carpenter family? Do you know of any similar families? Let us know, and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!