Parenting

Parenting is the regulation of children's behavior and development in order to promote children's survival, adaptation to the environment, and pursuit of their own goals. Parenting may also be conceived of as socialization, or inculcation of the values and norms of a culture or society. Good parenting enhances children's health and well-being across a broad array of outcomes. Parenting contributes to infants' attachment and exploratory behavior; young children's language skills, self-esteem, self-regulation, social skills and peer relationships, academic achievement, behavior, and resilience; adolescents' academic achievement, problem behaviors, and risk taking; and young adults' well-being and risk-taking behavior.

This entry first discusses determinants of parenting and then discusses the various ways parenting has been studied and described, including how dimensions of parenting are related to child health. ...