# Parent

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parent
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parent.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent
> Source revision: 1356352263
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Caregiver of offspring in their own species

For other uses, see [Parent (disambiguation)](/source/Parent_(disambiguation)).

Parents and their child

A **parent** is either the [progenitor](/source/Progenitor) of an [offspring](/source/Offspring), or in [humans](/source/Human), it can refer to a caregiver or [legal guardian](/source/Legal_guardian), generally called an **adoptive parent** or **step-parent**. Parents are [first-degree relatives](/source/First-degree_relative) and share 50% of their genes. A [female](/source/Female) can also become a parent through [surrogacy](/source/Surrogacy). Some parents may be [adoptive](/source/Adoption) parents, who nurture and raise an offspring, but are not related to the child. [Orphans](/source/Orphan) without adoptive parents can be raised by their [grandparents](/source/Grandparent) or other [family members](/source/Family_member).

A parent can also be elaborated as an [ancestor](/source/Ancestor) removed one [generation](/source/Generation). With recent advances in medicine, it is possible to have more than two biological parents.[1][2][3] Examples of [third biological parents](/source/Third-party_reproduction) include instances involving surrogacy or a third person who has provided DNA samples during an assisted reproductive procedure that has altered the recipients' genetic material.[4]

The most common types of parents are [mothers](/source/Mothers), [fathers](/source/Fathers), [step-parents](/source/Step-parents), and [grandparents](/source/Grandparents). A mother is "a woman in relation to a child or children to whom she has given birth."[5] The extent to which it is socially acceptable for a parent to be involved in their offspring's life varies from culture to culture, however one that exhibits too little involvement is sometimes said to exhibit [child neglect](/source/Child_neglect),[6] while one that is too involved is sometimes said to be [overprotective](/source/Overprotective), cosseting, [nosey](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nosy), or [intrusive](/source/Intrusiveness).[7]

## Types

### Biological

[Obama family](/source/Obama_family) portrait, 2011

A person's biological parents are the persons from whom the individual inherits their [genes](/source/Gene). The term is generally used only when it is necessary to distinguish an individual's foster parents from their biological parents. For example, an individual whose father has remarried may refer to the father's new wife as their [stepmother](/source/Stepmother) and continue to refer to their mother as their mother. However, someone who has had little or no contact with their biological mother may address their [foster parent](/source/Foster_parent) as their mother, and their biological mother as such, or perhaps by her first name.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

### Mother

Newborn baby

A mother is a female who has a maternal connection with another individual, whether arising from [conception](/source/Pregnancy), from giving [birth](/source/Childbirth) to the individual, or from [raising](/source/Parenting) the individual in the role of a parent.[8] More than one female may have such connections with an individual. Because of the complexity and variation in a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother in a way that accords with a universally accepted definition. The utilisation of a surrogate mother may result in explication of there being two biological mothers.[9]

### Father

Timothy L. Pesto and Kaitlyn E. Pesto play football as their father watches, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

A father is a male parent of any offspring.[10] It may be the person who shares in the raising of a child or who has provided the biological material, the [sperm](/source/Sperm), which results in the birth of the child.

### Grandparent

Grandparents are the parents of a person's parent, whether a father or a mother. Every sexually reproducing creature that is not a [genetic chimaera](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genetic_chimaera&action=edit&redlink=1) has a maximum of four [genetic](/source/Gene) grandparents, eight genetic [great-grandparents](/source/Great_grandparents), sixteen genetic great-great-grandparents and so on. Rarely, such as in the case of sibling or half-sibling [incest](/source/Incest), these [numbers are lower](/source/Pedigree_collapse).

## Paternity issues

Main article: [DNA paternity testing](/source/DNA_paternity_testing)

A paternity test is conducted to prove paternity, that is, whether a male is the biological father of another individual. This may be relevant in view of [rights](/source/Fathers'_rights_movement) and duties of the father. Similarly, a pregnancy test can be performed. This is less common because, at least during [childbirth](/source/Childbirth) and [pregnancy](/source/Pregnancy), except in cases of [embryo transfer](/source/Embryo_transfer) or [egg donation](/source/Egg_donation), it is obvious who the [mother](/source/Mother) is. However, it is used in several events such as legal battles where a person's maternity is challenged, where the mother is uncertain because she has not seen her child for an extended period of time, or where deceased persons need to be identified.

Although not constituting completely reliable evidence, several [congenital traits](/source/List_of_Mendelian_traits_in_humans) such as attached [earlobes](/source/Earlobe), a [widow's peak](/source/Widow's_peak), or the [cleft chin](/source/Cleft_chin), may serve as tentative indicators of (non-) parenthood as they are readily observable and inherited via [autosomal-dominant](/source/Dominance_relationship) genes.

A more reliable way to ascertain parenthood is through DNA analysis (also known as [genetic fingerprinting](/source/Genetic_fingerprinting)). However, older methods have included [ABO blood group typing](/source/Blood_type), analysis of various other [proteins](/source/Protein) and [enzymes](/source/Enzyme), or using [human leukocyte antigens](/source/Human_leukocyte_antigen). The current techniques for paternity testing use [polymerase chain reaction](/source/Polymerase_chain_reaction) and [restriction fragment length polymorphism](/source/Restriction_fragment_length_polymorphism). For the most part, however, genetic fingerprinting has largely supplanted other forms of testing.

## Rights and responsibilities

See also: [Parental responsibility (access and custody)](/source/Parental_responsibility_(access_and_custody)) and [Parents' rights movement](/source/Parents'_rights_movement)

### Guardianship

A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Guardianship is typically used in three situations: guardianship of an incapacitated senior (due to [old age](/source/Old_age) or [infirmity](/source/Infirmity)), guardianship of a [minor](/source/Minor_(law)), and guardianship of [developmentally disabled](/source/Developmental_disability) adults.

Most countries and states have laws that provide that the parents of a minor child are the legal guardians of that child, and that the parents can designate who shall become the child's legal guardian in the event of death, subject to the approval of the court. Some jurisdictions allow a parent of a child to exercise the authority of a legal guardian without a formal court appointment. In such circumstances, the parent acting in that capacity is the natural guardian of the child.

### Parenting

Main article: [Parenting](/source/Parenting)

[Parenting](/source/Parenting) or child rearing is the process of promoting and supporting the [physical](/source/Physical_fitness), [emotional](/source/Emotional_development), social, financial, and [intellectual development](/source/Intellectual_development) of a [child](/source/Child) from [infancy](/source/Infant) to [adulthood](/source/Adult). Parenting refers to the aspects of raising a child aside from the biological relationship.[11]

## Gender and gender mix

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2026)

A child has at least one biological [father](/source/Father) and at least one biological [mother](/source/Mother), but not every [family](/source/Family) is a traditional [nuclear family](/source/Nuclear_family). There are many variants, such as [adoption](/source/Adoption), [shared parenting](/source/Shared_parenting), [stepfamilies](/source/Stepfamily), and [LGBT parenting](/source/LGBT_parenting), over which there has been controversy.

As of 2011, social science literature mostly rejects the notion that there is an optimal gender mix of parents or that children and adolescents with [same-sex parents](/source/LGBT_parenting) suffer any developmental disadvantages compared with those with two opposite-sex parents.[12][13] The professionals and the major associations agreed in 2009 there is a well-established and accepted consensus in the field that there is no optimal gender combination of parents.[14] The family studies literature indicated in 2011 that it is family processes (such as the quality of parenting and relationships within the family) that contribute to determining children's well-being and "outcomes", rather than family structures, per se, such as the number, gender, sexuality and co-habitation status of parents.[13]

## Genetics

### Parent–offspring conflict

Main article: [Parent–offspring conflict](/source/Parent%E2%80%93offspring_conflict)

An offspring who hates their father is called a misopater; one who hates their mother is a misomater; and a parent who hates their offspring is a misopedist.[15][16] Parent–offspring conflict describes the [evolutionary conflict](/source/Evolutionary_conflict) arising from differences in optimal [fitness](/source/Fitness_(biology)) of parents and their [offspring](/source/Offspring). While parents tend to maximise the number of offspring, offspring can increase their fitness by obtaining a greater share of [parental investment](/source/Parental_investment), often by competing with their [siblings](/source/Siblings). The theory was proposed by [Robert Trivers](/source/Robert_Trivers) in 1974 and extends the more general [selfish gene theory](/source/Gene-centered_view_of_evolution) and has been used to explain many observed biological phenomena.[17] For example, in some [bird](/source/Bird) species. However, parents often lay two eggs and attempt to raise two or more young; the strongest fledgling takes a greater share of the food brought by parents and will often kill the weaker sibling, an act known as [siblicide](/source/Siblicide).

### Empathy

David Haig has argued that human [fetal](/source/Fetus) genes would be selected to draw more resources from the mother than it would be optimal for the mother to give, a hypothesis that has received empirical support. The [placenta](/source/Placenta), for example, secretes allocrine [hormones](/source/Hormone) that decrease the sensitivity of the mother to [insulin](/source/Insulin) and thus make a larger supply of blood sugar available to the fetus. The mother responds by increasing the level of insulin in her bloodstream, the placenta has insulin receptors that stimulate the production of insulin-degrading [enzymes](/source/Enzyme) which counteract this effect.[18]

## Happiness index

Sinatra family, 1949

In Europe, parents are generally happier than non-parents. Among women, happiness increases after the first child, but having higher-order children is not associated with further increases in well-being. Happiness seems to increase most in the year before and after the first childbirth.[19]

## See also

- [Adoption](/source/Adoption)

- [Bateman's principle](/source/Bateman's_principle)

- [Child abuse](/source/Child_abuse)

- [Cinderella effect](/source/Cinderella_effect)

- [Egg](/source/Egg_donation) and [sperm donation](/source/Sperm_donation)

- [Foster care](/source/Foster_care)

- [Infant](/source/Infant)

- [Narcissistic parent](/source/Narcissistic_parent)

- [Non-paternity event](/source/Non-paternity_event)

- [Parental abuse by children](/source/Parental_abuse_by_children)

- [Parental age (disambiguation)](/source/Parental_age_(disambiguation))

- [Parental bullying of children](/source/Parental_bullying_of_children)

- [Parental controls](/source/Parental_controls)

- [Parental investment](/source/Parental_investment)

- [Parental love](/source/Parental_love)

- [Parental narcissistic abuse](/source/Parental_narcissistic_abuse)

- [Parents bullying teachers](/source/Parents_bullying_teachers)

- [Paternal bond](/source/Paternal_bond)

- [Paternity (law)](/source/Paternity_(law))

- [Reciprocal socialization](/source/Reciprocal_socialization)

- [Stepparent](/source/Stepparent)

- [Surrogate mother](/source/Surrogate_mother)

- [Teachers bullying parents](/source/Teachers_bullying_parents)

- [Honour thy father and thy mother](/source/Honour_thy_father_and_thy_mother)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Gallagher, James (2013-06-28). ["UK government backs three-person IVF"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23079276). *BBC News*. Retrieved 30 June 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Nadine Taub](/source/Nadine_Taub); Beth Anne Wolfson; Carla M. Palumbo. *The Law of Sex Discrimination*. p. 374.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Browne C. Lewis (2012). *Papa's Baby: Paternity and Artificial Insemination*. p. 136.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Louise I. Gerdes (2009). *Reproductive Technologies*. p. 25.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["mother definition"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121010013824/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mother?rskey=YplwRN&result=1). *www.oxforddictionaries.com*. Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from [the original](http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/mother?rskey=YplwRN&result=1) on October 10, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Marian S Harris (2014). *Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare*. p. 2.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Bernard Roberts (2005). *Evidence in the Psychological Therapies: A Critical Guidance for Practitioners*. p. 149.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Definition from"](http://www.allwords.com/word-mother.html). Allwords.com. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2011-11-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Bromham, David (1990). *Philosophical Ethics in Reproductive Medicine*. p. 57.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["TheFreeDictionary"](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/father). Retrieved 2014-10-07.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Davies_11-0)** Davies, Martin (2000). [*The Blackwell encyclopedia of social work*](https://books.google.com/books?id=8iQAy9lZy9YC&pg=PA245). Wiley-Blackwell. p. 245. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-631-21451-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-631-21451-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Lamb, Michael (2009). [Affidavit – United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts](http://www.glad.org/uploads/docs/cases/2009-11-17-doma-aff-lamb.pdf#page=13)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-apsp_13-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-apsp_13-1) Short, Elizabeth; Riggs, Damien W.; Perlesz, Amaryll; Brown, Rhonda & Kane, Graeme. ["Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Parented Families – A Literature Review prepared for The Australian Psychological Society"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110304014530/http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/LGBT-Families-Lit-Review.pdf#page=8) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://www.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/LGBT-Families-Lit-Review.pdf#page=8) (PDF) on 2011-03-04. Retrieved 2011-11-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["In The Supreme Court of Iowa No. 07–1499"](https://web.archive.org/web/20091229034140/http://data.lambdalegal.org/in-court/downloads/varnum_ia_20090403_supreme-court-decision.pdf#page=10) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://data.lambdalegal.org/in-court/downloads/varnum_ia_20090403_supreme-court-decision.pdf#page=10) (PDF) on 2009-12-29. Retrieved 2011-11-04.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Francis, Darryl. "Iatrologs and Iatronyms." Word Ways 4.2 (1971): 8.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Davies, Jon. "Imagining intergenerationality: Representation and rhetoric in the paedophile movie." GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 13.2 (2007): 369-385.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Trivers, R.L. (1974). ["Parent–offspring conflict"](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Ficb%2F14.1.249). *Integrative and Comparative Biology*. **14** (1): 249–264. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/icb/14.1.249](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Ficb%2F14.1.249). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3881986](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3881986).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Haig, D. (1993). ["Genetic conflicts in human pregnancy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130719154120/http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/publications_files/93genetic%20conflicts%20in%20human%20pregnancy.pdf) (PDF). *The Quarterly Review of Biology*. **68** (4): 495–532. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1086/418300](https://doi.org/10.1086%2F418300). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3037249](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3037249). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [8115596](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8115596). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [38641716](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:38641716). Archived from [the original](http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/faculty/haig/publications_files/93genetic%20conflicts%20in%20human%20pregnancy.pdf) (PDF) on 2013-07-19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-balbo2013_19-0)** Nicoletta Balbo; Francesco C. Billari; Melinda Mills (2013). ["Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3576563). *European Journal of Population*. **29** (1): 1–38. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s10680-012-9277-y](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10680-012-9277-y). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [3576563](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3576563). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [23440941](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23440941).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Parents](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Parents).

Look up ***[parent](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/parent)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

- [National Educational Network, Inc. (NENI)](http://www.neni.us) – free online resources for parent education, curriculum. They also maintain a parent blog that provides information on child care, after-school programs, educational trends, tutoring, college, and grants.

- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). ["Parents"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Parents). *[Catholic Encyclopedia](/source/Catholic_Encyclopedia)*. New York: Robert Appleton Company. – A [Roman Catholic](/source/Roman_Catholic) view of the position of parents.

v t e Family History Rights Household Nuclear family Extended family Conjugal family Immediate family Matrifocal family First-degree relatives Parent mother father Child son daughter Sibling brother sister Second-degree relatives Grandparent Grandchild Uncle/Aunt Niece and nephew Third-degree relatives Great-grandparent Great-grandchild Great-uncle/Great-aunt Cousin Family-in-law Spouse wife husband Parent-in-law Sibling-in-law Child-in-law daughter-in-law son-in-law Stepfamily Stepparent stepfather stepmother Stepchild Stepsibling Kinship terminology Kinship Australian Aboriginal kinship Adoption Affinity Consanguinity Disownment Divorce Estrangement Family of choice Fictive kinship Marriage Nurture kinship Chinese kinship Hawaiian kinship Sudanese kinship Inuit kinship Iroquois kinship Crow kinship Omaha kinship Genealogy and lineage Bilateral descent Cadet branch Common ancestor Family name Heirloom Heredity Inheritance Lineal descendant collateral descent Matrilineality Patrilineality Progenitor Clan Royal descent Family trees Pedigree chart Genogram Ahnentafel Genealogical numbering systems Seize quartiers Quarters of nobility Relationships Agape (parental love) Eros (marital love) Philia (brotherly love) Storge (familial love) Filial piety Polyfidelity Holidays Mother's Day U.S. Father's Day Father–Daughter Day Siblings Day National Grandparents Day Parents' Day Children's Day Japan Family Day Canada American Family Day International Day of Families National Family Week UK National Adoption Day Related Breadwinner model Single parent Wedding anniversary Godparent Birth order Only child Middle child syndrome Sociology of the family Museum of Motherhood Astronaut family Dysfunctional family Domestic violence Incest Sibling abuse Sibling estrangement Sibling rivalry

v t e Parenting Kinship terminology Parent Mother Father Adoptive Alloparenting Coparenting Extended family Foster care Noncustodial Nuclear family Orphaned Same-sex Shared parenting Single parent Blended family Surrogacy In loco parentis Theories · Areas Attachment theory Applied behavior analysis Behaviorism Child development Cognitive development Developmental psychology Human development Identity formation Introjection Love Maternal bond Nature versus nurture Paternal bond Parental care Pediatrics Social emotional development Socialization Social psychology Styles Achievement ideology Atlas personality Attachment parenting Baby talk Buddha-like parenting Concerted cultivation Enmeshment Free-range parenting Gatekeeper parent Helicopter parent Nurturant parenting Reflective parenting Slow parenting Soccer mom Strict father model Taking Children Seriously Theybie Tiger parenting Work at home parent Techniques After-school activity Allowance Bedtime Child care Co-sleeping Dishabituation Education Habituation Homeschooling Identification Introjection Kommune 1 Latchkey kid Moral development Normative social influence Parent management training Play (date) Role model Social integration Television The talk (race) The talk (sex education) Toy (educational) Positive Parenting Program Child discipline Blanket training Corporal punishment in the home Curfew Grounding Positive discipline Tactical ignoring Time-out Abuse Adverse childhood experiences Child abandonment Child abuse Child labour Child neglect Cinderella effect Codependency Deadbeat parent Dysfunctional family Effects of domestic violence Incest Management of domestic violence Narcissistic parent Parental abuse by children Parental alienation Stress in early childhood Legal Child custody Disownment Family disruption Right to family life Marriage Parental leave Parental responsibility Parents' rights Paternity Shared parenting Financial Baby bonus Care work Child benefit Child penalties Child support Child tax credit Cost of raising a child Family economics Income and fertility Parental investment Unpaid work Experts Mary Ainsworth Diana Baumrind Mrs. Bowdich John Bowlby T. Berry Brazelton Rudolf Dreikurs David Elkind Jo Frost Haim Ginott Thomas Gordon Alan E. Kazdin Truby King Annette Lareau Penelope Leach Matthew Sanders William Sears B. F. Skinner Benjamin Spock Organizations Families Need Fathers Mothers' Union National Childbirth Trust National Fatherhood Initiative National Parents Organization Parent–teacher association Parents Against Child Exploitation

v t e Infants and their care Health (pediatrics) Apgar score Baby food Birth weight Breast pump Breastfeeding Breastfeeding and medications Breastfeeding and mental health Bottle feeding Colic Cradle cap Esotropia Failure to thrive Immunization Infant and toddler safety Infant bathing Infant feeding Infant food safety Infant formula Infant massage Infant respiratory distress syndrome Infant sleep training Neonatal intensive care unit Newborn care and safety Oral rehydration therapy Pedialyte Preterm birth Shaken baby syndrome Soy formula SIDS Development Attachment parenting Baby-led weaning Baby talk Babbling Birth defect Childbirth Crawling Gestational age Infant visual development Irritant diaper dermatitis Infant cognitive development Infant crying Kangaroo care Mother Nursery rhyme Object permanence Parent Parenting Peekaboo Play Prenatal development Prenatal development table Teething Walking Weaning Socialization and culture Attachment Babysitting Child abuse Child care Child custody Children's rights UN Child rights Circumcision Foster care Grandparent visitation Infant swimming Milk bank Nanny Wet nurse Infant care and equipment Baby bouncer Baby gate Baby monitor/Hidden camera Baby powder Baby shampoo Baby toy Baby walker Bib Baby swing Baby transport Baby sling Bassinet Changing table Child safety seat Child vehicular heat stroke deaths Cloth diaper Cradleboard Diaper Diaper bag Baby wipes Haberman Feeder High chair Infant bed (American 'crib' and 'cradle', British 'cot') Infant carrier Infant clothing bodysuit Nursing chair Pacifier Playpen Stroller Supplemental nursing system Swaddling Swim diaper Teether Travel cot Other topics Baby shower Babywearing Child neglect Closed adoption Cry room Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder Infant ear piercing Open adoption Prenatal cocaine exposure Neonatal withdrawal syndrome Parental child abduction Parental responsibility Parenting plan Paternity Paternity fraud Stunted growth

Authority control databases International GND National United States France BnF data Czech Republic Israel Other NARA Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine Yale LUX

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Parent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.