parenting

American  

[pair-uhn-ting, par-] / ˈpɛər ən tɪŋ, ˈpær- /

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.

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adjective

1. of or concerned with the rearing of children.

   good parenting skills.

parenting British  

/ ˈpɛərəntɪŋ /

noun

1. the care and upbringing of a child

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Usage

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

Etymology

Origin of parenting

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parenting

Call it CEO parenting: treating the modern family as a small enterprise and delegating low-joy tasks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Her book, Kalki says, was born out of her personal experience of pregnancy and parenting and was written in the middle of the Covid lockdown.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Reports routinely include aspects of parenting on which reasonable people disagree, such as how old a child should be to play unsupervised, or that reflect a parents’ lack of resources instead of any intentional misconduct.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026

Had the advent of intensive parenting robbed the holiday of its spark?

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

It was the first but not the last time I toted along my middle- class notions about parenting, only to learn that Jesse had been almost completely on his own for years.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz