When you have children, you always want the best for them. If you pass away, you want to make sure the care they receive is as good or better than you currently provide.
Here are some (but not all!) important things to think about when choosing a Guardian for your child(ren).
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Is there someone who is already close to them?
One of the best things to do when a large event has happened in your child’s life is to try to keep all other factors the same.
Will going to the same school or daycare still be an option?
Would you want the guardian to move into your current home to help accomplish this?
Can they be with someone who they already see on a regular basis?
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Will the addition of new family members be easy to incorporate into a new guardian’s lifestyle?
With my parents and in-laws getting to the age where keeping up with a toddler or going to soccer games all weekend would be difficult, I don’t think it would be the best decision to have them be the guardians of my young kids.
I considered their Aunt and Uncle to be guardians. It would be great since they could keep up with the energy level of my kids, but they already have five children, so adding a few more might not be a good fit.
There may always be less-than-perfect circumstances in your choice, but it is more important for a decision to be made than for it to be perfect.
Someone with a support network, who would have the ability to take on a large responsibility, and who would be honored to have guardianship of your children would be a choice that can give you peace of mind.
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Does your potential Guardian have the same beliefs/goals/style of living as you?
It is so important to me that my kids are raised with the same (or at least similar) religious and political views as myself. I want them to grow up as if I had raised them, and having a guardian that holds similar ideals as myself would put me at ease knowing they’re growing up as I would have wanted.
