Words that should be banned: parenting

The Oxford English dictionary shows no entries for parenting used as a verb. And who can blame them? I mean, really:

I parent?
You parent?
He/She parents?

Please!

And even worse:

We are parenting?
You (plural) are parenting?
They are parenting?

Gag me with a rototiller!

Parenting is a word that bristles with vested interest and artful conjuring. Parenting appears as an adjective before words like skills and style. It masquerades as an honorable aspiration and an example of best practice.

But don't be fooled, parents, because parenting is a weasel word invoked by parenting experts who are quoted in parenting magazines and parenting websites that purport to educate, but that are really selling products pitched at parents.

Parenting attempts to sap a parent of confidence in their own instincts, seed doubt and then offer products to fill the void. Parenting is a tool of guerilla marketing. It has nothing to do with being a good mum or dad.

Let's rid the language of parenting for the sake of the parents.