Parent is to be a mother or father to a child, taking responsibility for raising them, teaching them, and helping them grow into capable adults. When you parent someone, you're doing the daily work of caring for them: making sure they eat healthy food, helping with homework, teaching right from wrong, comforting them when they're sad, and celebrating their successes.

Parenting requires patience, love, and consistency. Parents set rules to keep children safe and help them learn self-control. They balance being firm when necessary with showing warmth and affection. When a parent corrects a mistake, they're teaching; when they praise an effort, they're encouraging.

The word can describe styles or approaches: someone might parent strictly, or parent with humor, or parent differently than their own parents did. You might hear someone say “they really parented that situation well” when an adult handles a difficult moment with a child skillfully.

As a noun, a parent is a mother or father.