A number of parenting terms have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
From babymoons to baby brain, a number of terms and practices have been emerging from parenting message boards the last few years.
And now more than 100 words related to pregnancy, childbirth and child care were added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) this month.
The team behind the dictionary turned to parenting forum, Mumsnet, for advice on what terms to add into the OED.
OED Senior Editor Fi Mooring explained in a blog post:
“These words reflect personal experiences but many of them also resonate much more widely, even with people who are not parents.
“The distinctive lexicon of parenting maps a whole range of human experience, from immense joy to immeasurable sorrow and, considering its relevance to so much of the population it seemed an underrepresented category of vocabulary in the Dictionary.”
Some of the newest additions include…
Balance bike (noun)
A type of bicycle for a learner, with no pedals or training wheels.
Baby brain (noun)
A supposed state of impaired memory or concentration that occurs during pregnancy or after giving birth.
Babymoon (noun)
While this term was originally used to describe the bonding time new parents have with their newborn, it’s now more commonly used to describe a holiday that parents-to-be take before their baby arrives.
CIO (noun)
Short for ‘cry it out’, a kind of sleep training method where the child is left to fall asleep on its own.
Co-parenting (noun)
A term used to describe not only divorced or separated parents working together to raise their child, as well as parents who are not in a romantic relationship together but choose to have a child together.
Dream feeding (verb)
The act of feeding a baby very late at night while they are still half asleep.
Helicopter parenting (verb)
Alluding to the idea of parents ‘hovering’ over their kids, this practice involves a parent taking an excessive interest in the life of his or her child.
Nesting (verb)
This term commonly refers the urge to clean, organise and get prepared before the birth of a baby.
Push present (noun)
A gift usually given to a woman shortly after she gives birth, typically by her partner or her spouse.
