underparent

present singular third person underparents · participle present underparenting · participle past underparented · past underparented

1. To provide one's child with insufficient attention and nurturing.

   I am now convince it is more harmful to overparent than to underparent.

   2013, Steve Gilliland, Hide Your Goat: Strategies to Stay Positive When Negativity Surrounds You, page 70

   2 more examples

   Do I underparent my child because I am not around enough to give the child what he or she needs?

   2007, Michael Gurian, Nurture the Nature, page 111

   Both restrictive and indulgent parents can either underparent or overparent.

   2016, Shakta Khalsa, The Yoga Way to Radiance

plural underparents

1. One who has a subordinate position to the main parent but who takes on some parental responsibilities.

   If Father is the typical male underparent, as he generally is, it is not that he is a failure, except by overparent standards.

   1978, William Reynolds, The American father, page 210