Interview data on a consecutive sample of families with children multiply admitted to residential care by one inner London borough were contrasted with those from a comparison sample from the same geographical area. The in-care group were twice as likely to be experiencing current parenting problems with 5- to 8-year-old children, but were distinguished from the already disadvantaged comparison group as much by other kinds of family difficulties as by parenting problems per se. It was therefore argued that parenting cannot be seen as an attribute of individuals irrespective of their current circumstances.