Coparenting

This entry describes the concept of coparenting, which refers to the degree of support and solidarity between two or more adult parenting figures responsible for any given child’s care and upbringing. The entry begins by tracing the historical roots of the concept, especially as pertains to the dynamics of rearing children together in two-parent family systems led by children’s biological parents. It then provides an overview of conceptual and empirical work in the new millennium, which has appropriately expanded the scope of coparenting studies to elucidate the dynamics of rearing children together by adults in the myriad of other functional family systems and structures around the world in which children develop and thrive.