“Daddy is the best daddy in the world,” declared young Jack as he spoke about his single father, Ben Carpenter.
Several years ago, when Ben was only 21 years old, he adopted Jack and gave a loving home to the young boy with autism. Since then, the selfless father has welcomed five more little ones with disability and is still thinking about opening the doors of his home to more children.
An absolute inspiration https://t.co/pbezNCH2NF
— ExaminerLive (@Examiner) December 31, 2020
Today, Ben is a 37-year-old single dad from the UK who always knew he wanted to raise a big family.
“I’ve always known what I wanted. I never wanted to become a biological dad because being a parent is so much more than that,” Ben said, as quoted by Mirror. “I wanted to help kids that were the most vulnerable and the ones that were most in need of a loving and caring home.”
Speaking about his adoption process, Ben said, “I had a lot to prove at such a young age. I needed to show that I was mature enough and could offer these kids what they needed. The good thing about adoption that you can’t do in pregnancy is picking the gender of the child.”
First to become a part of his family was Jack, who is now 14 years old.
“To begin with I chose a boy and then a girl because I thought that would be the perfect set up and luckily got accepted and matching with my son and daughter, Jack and Ruby,” Ben recalled. “I was then asked if I would take my biological daughter’s sister which I agreed to do.”
Currently, Ruby is an 11-year-old with a complex disability, while her sister, Lilly, is 9 years old and profoundly deaf.
“So I had two girls and one boy and I thought I should even it out again and adopt another son,” Ben went on to say. “So I applied for a boy with Down Syndrome and within three days I was matched to a baby boy who had just been born with the condition.”
Ben’s fourth child with Down’s Syndrome is named Joseph and is a happy 6-year-old old.
Next to join Ben’s family was Teddy, who made a lovely match with the family and was adopted as his fifth child.
“I then had my five kids and I was so happy. They were all doing amazing,” Ben said.
But sadly, Teddy passed away in 2019 due to sepsis and left Ben in a painful state of grief.
“I was devastated and I felt guilty for a while because I kept wondering if there was something I could have done to fix it,” Ben shared.
The single father took some time to cope with losing Teddy from his family. Eventually, he realized that there was another boy who also needed him. And that’s when young Louis came along in 2020 and made Ben a father of six.
“He is a wonderful little boy with a wicked personality and I’m extremely proud to call my son,” Ben said about Louis, who is blind and has cerebral palsy, according to Yorkshire Live.
Superdad Ben Carpenter 'extremely proud' after adopting sixth childhttps://t.co/Rej0cQ4kdQ
— ExaminerLive (@Examiner) October 7, 2020
Even after Teddy’s death, Ben still considers himself a father of six. Moreover, he is glad to have had the chance to make a huge difference in the lives of his children.
“I love all my children with all my heart and I love seeing them achieve and thrive. It is the most wonderful feeling as a parent, especially knowing that their futures were bleak,” he said.
Children who have a disability or other health needs often wait much longer to find a permanent loving home through adoption. Meet Yorkshire adopter @benjamincarp who, as a single man, has opened his heart and home to six children with additional needs #YouCanAdopt @Youcanadopt pic.twitter.com/E42umTlc7E
— One Adoption (@one_adoption) September 30, 2020
Having created a stable environment where they all love and support each other, Ben said, as quoted by Mirror, “As much as I have changed their life, they have also changed mine. And I would never say never to having another child.”
Click here to donate towards helping Ben create a sensory room for his children.
Cover image source: JustGiving
