Parenting

Since the 1970s, ‘parenting’ is a term that has been used in the Anglo-American world to describe the task of looking after and socialising children. It is used across a number of domains, including the natural and social sciences, government policy, and politics, and is increasingly used by parents themselves. The novelty of the transformation of the noun ‘parent’ into the verb ‘to parent’ and the verbal noun ‘parenting’ has been of great interest to researchers of childhood and family life, as it is seen to indicate a significant shift in the understandings of what is a parent, what is a child, and their relationship. This entry outlines how scholars of the humanities and social sciences have analysed the meaning of this new way of ...