What a great suggestion, inky. A friend of mine doesn’t have children and no nieces no nephews. She volunteered at recreation center tutoring some kids for awhile. But no credentials were required. It was just basic ABCs. Now she volunteers at local elementary school. She finds it very rewarding. I don’t pretend to think it’s the same as having your own kids, but my friend finds it very rewarding. Oh yeah big brother big sister is common here too.
There’s domestic abuse shelter by me and they always want volunteer working with children.