Parent in the context of Working paper

In genealogy and evolutionary biology, an ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). Ancestor is "any person from whom one is descended. In law, the person from whom an estate has been inherited."

A child (pl. children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of child generally refers to a minor, in this case as a person younger than the local age of majority (there are exceptions such as, for example, the consume and purchase of alcoholic beverage even after said age of majority), regardless of their physical, mental and sexual development as biological adults. Children generally have fewer rights and responsibilities than adults. They are generally classed as unable to make serious decisions.

Child may also describe a relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age) or, metaphorically, an authority figure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties."

A nuclear family (also known as an elementary family, atomic family, or conjugal family) is a family group consisting of two parents and their children (one or more), typically living in one home residence. It is in contrast to a single-parent family, a larger extended family, or a family with more than two parents. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple that may have any number of children. There are differences in definition among observers. Some definitions allow only biological children who are full-blood siblings, some consider adopted or half- and step-siblings a part of the immediate family, but others allow for a step-parent and any mix of dependent children, including stepchildren and adopted children.

Some sociologists and anthropologists consider the extended family structure to be the most common family structure in most cultures and at most times for humans, rather than the nuclear family.

An aunt is a female individual who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Aunts who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. Alternate terms include auntie or aunty.

Aunt, auntie, and aunty also may be titles bestowed by parents and children to close friends of one or both parents who assume a sustained caring or nurturing role for the children. Children in some cultures and families may refer to the cousins of their parents as aunt or uncle due to the age and generation gap. The word comes from Latin: amita via Old French ante and is a family relationship within an extended or immediate family.

In sociology, social transformation is a somewhat ambiguous term that has two broad definitions.

One definition of social transformation is the process by which an individual alters the socially ascribed social status of their parents into a socially achieved status for themselves (status transformation). Another definition refers to large scale social change as in cultural reforms or transformations (societal transformation). The first occurs with the individual, the second with the social system.

Incest (/ˈɪnsɛst/ IN-sest) is sex between close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes any kind of sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineage. It is condemned and considered immoral in many societies. It can lead to an increased risk of genetic disorders in children in case of pregnancy from incestuous sex.

The incest taboo is one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos, both in present and in past societies. Most modern societies have laws regarding incest or social restrictions on closely consanguineous marriages. In societies where it is illegal, consensual adult incest is seen by some as a victimless crime. Some cultures extend the incest taboo to relatives with no consanguinity, such as milk-siblings, stepsiblings, and adoptive siblings, albeit sometimes with less intensity. Third-degree relatives (such as half-aunt, half-nephew, first cousin) on average have 12.5% common genetic heritage, and sexual relations between them are viewed differently in various cultures, from being discouraged to being socially acceptable. Children of incestuous relationships have been regarded as illegitimate, and are still so regarded in some societies today. In most cases, the parents did not have the option to marry to remove that status, as incestuous marriages were, and are, normally also prohibited.

Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biological relationship.

The most common caretakers in parenting are the biological parents of the child in question. However, a caretaker may be an older sibling, step-parent, grandparent, legal guardian, aunt, uncle, other family members, or a family friend. Governments and society may also have a role in child-rearing or upbringing. In many cases, orphaned or abandoned children receive parental care from non-parent or non-blood relations. Others may be adopted, raised in foster care, or placed in an orphanage.

A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the other person. A male sibling is a brother, and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.

While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separately (such as foster care or adoption), most societies have siblings grow up together. This causes the development of strong emotional bonds, with siblinghood considered a unique type of relationship. The emotional bond between siblings is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality, and personal experiences outside the family.

A child of deaf adult, often known by the acronym CODA, is a person who was raised by one or more deaf parents or legal guardians. Ninety percent of children born to deaf adults are not deaf, resulting in a significant and widespread community of CODAs around the world, although whether the child is hearing, deaf, or hard of hearing has no effect on the definition. The acronym KODA (kid of deaf adult) is sometimes used to refer to CODAs under the age of 18.

The term was coined by Millie Brother who also founded the organization CODA, which serves as a resource and a center of community for children of deaf adults as an oral and a sign language, and bicultural, identifying with both deaf and hearing cultures. CODAs often navigate the border between the deaf and hearing worlds, serving as liaisons between their deaf parents and the hearing world in which they reside.

In family law, child custody describes the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of legal custody, which is the right to make decisions about the child, and physical custody, which is the right and duty to house, provide and care for the child. Married parents normally have joint legal and physical custody of their children. Decisions about child custody typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, annulment, separation, adoption or parental death. In most jurisdictions child custody is determined in accordance with the best interests of the child standard.

Following ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in most countries, terms such as parental responsibility, "residence" and "contact" (also known as "visitation", "conservatorship" or "parenting time" in the United States) have superseded the concepts of "custody" and "access" in some member nations. Instead of a parent having "custody" of or "access" to a child, a child is now said to "reside" or have "contact" with a parent.

Parental responsibility refers to the responsibility which underpin the relationship between the children and the children's parents and those adults who are granted parental responsibility by either signing a 'parental responsibility agreement' with the mother or getting a 'parental responsibility order' from a court. The terminology for this area of law now includes matters dealt with as contact (visitation in the United States) and residence (see Residence in English law) in some states. Parental responsibilities are connected to Parents' rights and privileges.

The consort kin or outer kins (Chinese: 外戚; pinyin: wàiqì) were the kin or a group of people related to an empress dowager or a consort of a monarch or a warlord in the Sinosphere. The leading figure of the clan was either a (usually male) sibling, cousin, or parent of the empress dowager or consort.

While Consort kins can be seen as a manifestation of nepotism in Sinospheric imperial politics, it is a moot point in a system of where most political positions were inherited via male primogeniture. Majority of the criticism lobbied against consort kins comes from the Confucians gentry class, who were often their political rival. In certain periods of Chinese political history, i.e. Reign of Emperor Wu of Western Jin Dynasty, consort kins were empowered by emperors to create political balance or to garner support for policies or actions unpopular among the Confucian elites. In other cases, emperors at the beginning of their reign, often relied on their consort kins to hold onto power, because they lack of the political network a more established ruler may have.

A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestational surrogacy.

A biological mother is the female genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through sexual intercourse or egg donation. A biological mother may have legal obligations to a child not raised by her, such as an obligation of monetary support. An adoptive mother is a female who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A putative mother is a female whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepmother is a non-biological female parent married to a child's preexisting parent, and may form a family unit but generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.