alloparenting

Also known as alloparental care, alloparental infant care, alloparental child care, alloparental infant handling, alloparental child handling, alloparental

thumb|upright=1.5|Vervet monkey with young in Tanzania

~36 min read

Article

29 sections

Contents

Behavior
Allonursing
Theory
Alloparental investment
Classification
'True' (mutualistic)
'Misdirected' (parasitic)
Benefits
To the alloparent
To the young
In cooperative breeding
Costs
To the young
To the alloparent
Evolution
Evolution of cooperative breeding
In nature
'Babysitting' in sperm whales
Pilot whales
Interspecific brood amalgamation
Chimpanzees
Indian free-range dogs
Alloparenting expressed by cats
In humans
Human psychology in alloparenting
Cause and effects of alloparenting
Cause
Effect
References

thumb|upright=1.5|Vervet monkey with young in Tanzania

Alloparenting (or alloparental care) is a term for any form of parental care provided by an individual towards young that are not its own direct offspring. These are often called "non-descendant" young, even though grandchildren can be among them. Among humans, alloparenting is often performed by a child's grandparents and older siblings. Individuals providing this care are called by the neutral term "alloparent" (or "helper").