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Father redirects here; for the Catholic priest title, please see priest.
Old man redirects here; for Sisko's nickname for Dax, please see Old Man.
For the painting by Data, please see Daughter (painting).
"My database contains everything there is to know about pediatric care and childhood development. I can't imagine a parenting problem I couldn't handle."
– The Doctor, 2373 ("Real Life")

In a family, a parent was the caregiver responsible for providing parenting to an offspring. (VOY: "Q2", et al.) The person responsible for contributing DNA to a child was known as the biological parent. (ENT: "Cold Station 12", TNG: "True Q", VOY: "Favorite Son") Thought often used to describe people in general, the colloquial term folks was often used to described one's parents. (ENT: "Fight or Flight", et al.) Offspring, who is raised by only one or none of the biological parents, is called an orphan.

Ideally, the parents were those responsible for the conception and birth of the child, but in circumstances of adoption or fosterage, the adoptive or foster parents may be either related or unrelated individuals, who would raise the child as their own. (TNG: "Heart of Glory"; DS9: "Cardassians", "The Sword of Kahless", "Sons and Daughters")

In a deleted scene of ENT: "The Expanse", Captain Jonathan Archer asks Hoshi Sato how the talks with her folks went, talking about Sato's talks with her parents. Sato responded that she might need to brush up her Japanese.

Artificial lifeforms, such as androids and holograms, did not have biological parents. Despite this, certain sentient artificial lifeforms considered their original creators to be akin to parents. The android Data considered Noonian Soong his father and Juliana Soong his mother. (TNG: "Inheritance") The Doctor of the USS Voyager once stated that Lewis Zimmerman, the creator of the Emergency Medical Holographic program, was the closest thing he had to a father. (VOY: "Life Line")

Parentage

Father

The male or paternal parent was known as the father, who may also be known informally known as dad, daddy, papa, pa or old man. (ENT: "Terra Nova", "Fortunate Son"; TOS: "The Apple", et al.) A man to whom fatherhood came naturally were known as a family man.

In 2154, Jonathan Archer informed Smike that his biological father was named Miklos Karlovassi. (ENT: "Cold Station 12")

During his lifetime, Kathryn Janeway referred to her father as "Daddy," (VOY: "Coda") while Alexander often referred to Worf in more formal terms, calling him "Father". (TNG: "Reunion", et al.)

Jake Sisko referred to his father Benjamin Sisko by the more basic "Dad." (DS9: "Emissary", "Move Along Home", et al.) While his father, Benjamin Sisko, occasionally referred to himself to Jake as his "old man" when talking to his son Jake. (DS9: "The Nagus", "The Homecoming", "Shadowplay", "The Maquis, Part I", "The Abandoned", "Explorers") Benjamin's father Joseph Sisko did likewise when speaking to Benjamin. (DS9: "Homefront", "Paradise Lost") Trip Tucker, Emory Erickson, and Tom Paris both once referred to themselves as such with regards to their children. (ENT: "E²", "Daedalus"; VOY: "Prophecy") Reginald Barclay made reference to The Doctor and Lewis Zimmerman as an old man and son. (VOY: "Author, Author")

While discussing parents, Miles O'Brien recalled to Worf in 2366, how the last time his "old man" was on board the USS Enterprise-D, "I found him chasing Nurse Stanton around a biobed in Sickbay." Worf, however, was "not concerned about [his] father chasing nurses." (TNG: "Family") The hologram Eli Hollander referred to his father, Frank Hollander, as "my old man". Upon hearing this, Worf inquired "What old man are you referring to?" To which, Hollander clarified, "my pa". (TNG: "A Fistful of Datas")

When Jake Sisko told Varis Sul about his father, Nog tried to compare his father, Rom, to Jake's. Both turned quiet when Varis Sul told them that her father was killed by the Cardassians. (DS9: "The Storyteller")

Norvalens did not have fathers. An individual who teased Jaffen in 2377 by insulting his father was unaware either of his species not having any or that he was a Norvalen. (VOY: "Workforce")

Mother

The female or maternal parent was known as the mother, who may also be known informally known as mom, mommy, mummy, or mama. (TOS: "I, Mudd", et al.) In the Ferengi culture the term for mother was Moogie. (DS9: "Family Business", et al.) In the French language the term was maman. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before") The duration of being a mother was known as motherhood. (TNG: "Justice", "Datalore")

Stepparents

A stepparent, either known as the stepfather or stepmother, was an individual who fulfilled the role of a parent after their marriage to a divorced or widowed parent.

Leeta became Nog's stepmother after she married Rom in 2373. (DS9: "Call to Arms")

Raised by a single parent

The following individuals were raised by just one parent, either due to the second parent's death, a separation, abandonment, or other reasons.

Individuals raised by a single parent

Examples

List of parents

List of stepparents

See also

External links

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