parenting

[ pair-uhn-ting, par- ]

noun

1. the rearing of children:

   The schedule allows her very little time for parenting.

2. the methods, techniques, etc., used or required in the rearing of children:

   a course in parenting.

3. the state of being a parent; parenthood.

adjective

1. of or concerned with the rearing of children:

   good parenting skills.

parenting

/ ˈpɛərəntɪŋ /

noun

1. the care and upbringing of a child

Usage Note

Parenting has come to be favored over parenthood, rearing, and bringing up in sociological and educational literature and in popular writing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of parenting¹

First recorded in 1955–60; parent + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

I'm often given unasked-for parenting advice from female parents who often, frankly, have much less parenting experience in general and absolutely none with my kids.

From Washington Post

I would love to have a dog but I know it’s a lot of responsibility so co-parenting would be a plus.

From Washington Blade

Top 10 parenting lessons I learned from David LettermanIt’s time to end the TV trope of the needy empty-nest mom

From Washington Post

My mother’s efforts to juggle a career with solo parenting gave me a sense of professional empowerment.

From Washington Post

So they should only ever be used as an addition to—not a substitution for—good parenting.

From Popular-Science

Kent herself has said the movie is about parenting, the unsayable extremes of what mothers can feel.

From The Daily Beast

But genes trump everything, even parenting by furry primates.

From The Daily Beast

Parenting a kid that can get from place to place under his own steam is a whole new ballgame.

From The Daily Beast

As Larkin would no doubt expect, the history of dubious royal parenting steps back to time immemorial.

From The Daily Beast

A news study shows that liberals and conservatives have wildly different parenting styles.

From The Daily Beast

So we can promote, together, education and work and good parenting.

From Project Gutenberg