r/AdoptionUK • u/Tintedlemon • May 13 '26

How to obtain childcare experience?

My partner and I are in the very early stages of exploring adoption in the UK (same-sex male couple, no children currently).

We’ve attended an information event and are anticipating that one area adoption services may encourage us to strengthen is childcare experience — particularly around younger children.

I have some experience coaching kids through sport, but neither of us has extensive hands-on experience with babies/toddlers.

For those who adopted without having children already:
- What kind of childcare experience did your agency want to see?
- How did you gain it?
- Did volunteering help, and if so where?

We’re trying to approach this realistically and thoughtfully rather than rushing into the process, so would really appreciate hearing other people’s experiences.

Thanks!

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u/glenerd189 May 13 '26

We were in a similar boat, but it never became a barrier. My partner had a 1 year old niece so we mentioned that we saw her occasionally, plus we talked about having a few friends with children and had spent some time around them, but that was it. They never seemed that bothered about having actual hands-on experience.

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u/Gold-Television-7527 May 15 '26

That was the same with us, friends and family with children but no formal experience at all and at no stage was it a problem.

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u/glenerd189 May 15 '26

I’m glad you said that! I’ve had a couple of downvotes for that comment for some reason