Parenting is an important and complex part of everyday life, yet the role of occupational therapy in supporting parents has received relatively little attention. This study explored how parenting is understood within occupational therapy research and developed the Parenting Occupations and Purposes (POP) Framework to bring these ideas together. The framework takes a parent-centred approach, recognising parenting as an occupation in its own right rather than focusing only on the needs of the child. The findings highlight opportunities for occupational therapists to better support parents in their everyday parenting roles, while recognising that there is no single “right” way to parent.

After preliminary testing in Ireland, planning is underway for a global study that will use Experience Sampling Method to explore the range tasks and activities that parents do as part of parenting. We will use this information to assess the validity of the POP framework, identify any additional parenting occupations, and explore the impact of culture on parenting practices.

Lim, Y. Z. G., Honey, A., & McGrath, M. (2022). The parenting occupations and purposes conceptual framework: A scoping review of ‘doing’ parenting. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 69(1), 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1630.12778