When did parenting become a recognised word?

Two sources prove useful for answering this: Online Etymology Dictionary According to this, the verb to parent was first used in the 1660s, which is 3 and a half centuries ago. read more

According to this, the verb to parent was first used in the 1660s, which is 3 and a half centuries ago. It was already possible back then to express the gerund by adding -ing to the stem. As a verbal noun, parenting was used first in 1959, it seems. read more

By August this year, Oxford proclaimed it a real English-language word and gave it a place in the dictionary -- but that was merely a stepping stone to lingual infamy. "Language research conducted by Oxford Dictionaries editors reveals that the frequency of the word selfie in the English language has increased by 17,000% since this time last year," Oxford wrote in justifying its choice. read more

In a rapidly changing world, parenting seems subject to fads and changing styles, and parenting in some ways has become a competitive sport. But the needs of child development as delineated by science remain relatively stable. There is such a thing as overparenting, and aiming for perfection in parenting might be a fool's mission. read more