Childrearing

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃaɪldˌɹɪəɹɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The act of nurturing and educating a young person includes providing emotional, physical, and social support as they progress through developmental stages
2. This practice encompasses the responsibilities associated with guiding a youth's growth, including their emotional and educational development, as well as addressing their overall well-being
3. The process of fostering a young individual's growth involves nurturing their emotional, physical, and cognitive needs while ensuring a supportive environment

Etymology: Childrearing is about as transparent as English compounds get: it joins "child" with "rearing," the gerund of "rear," a verb meaning to bring up or raise. "Rear" comes from Old English "ræran," meaning to raise up, set upright, or cause to stand, and its sense of raising offspring developed from that older idea of lifting something up. The verb is connected to "rise" in the same way that "fell" relates to "fall," since "rear" is the causative form, the one that makes something else rise. The compound itself is a plain combination of two common words rather than a coinage with a known inventor or a dated first appearance, so there is no story beyond the parts. Its meaning follows directly from them: "child" plus the act of rearing gives the upbringing of children as a whole, from infancy through adolescence.

Synonyms: parenting, upbringing, nurturing, childcare

Antonyms: neglect, abandonment