Children are a form of insurance in many parts of the world. Parents give birth and raise children who will provide them with security in later life. But are natural parents the only ones to benefit? Research has tended to focus on parent-child relationships. Yet, nuclear families are part of a broader network involving other family members: children are often raised by people other than natural parents. Recent work in Sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa suggests that child fostering among a wide set of kin can increase levels of security provided by children, especially for disadvantaged family members, such as women and lower status households.