CHILD REARING

- Child rearing refers to the processes, strategies, and approaches used to raise a
child from birth through adulthood. The methods parents use in child-rearing
varies significantly across the United States and around the world.

APPROACHES
 Permissive. This is a child-driven approach in which parents rarely give or
enforce rules. Children sometimes overindulged to avoid conflict.
 Authoritative. Parents solve problems with their children and set clear
rules and expectations.
 Neglectful. Parents have low demand, but also low responsiveness to
their child’s needs. Parents offer little nurturing, guidance, or attention.
 Authoritarian. Parents have high demands, but low responsiveness.
They enforce rules with little consideration for the child’s feelings or social-
emotional and behavioral needs.

Child Rearing in the United States

Research done by Sara Harkness, a professor of human development at the
University of Connecticut, found a common parenting theme in the United States.
More than other countries, U.S. parents tend to emphasize early-age cognition.
American parents are more likely to focus on the importance of maintaining high
levels of mental arousal and activity than parents elsewhere in the world.
However, the picture is more nuanced depending on the region. Studies of
American parents find a variety of parental approaches in different regions of the
country. For example, parents in the South are more likely to demand obedience
and respect from their children than parents in Central Florida. Floridian parents
are far more likely to include children in discussions of family decisions, allow
disagreements, and allow children to make their own decisions.

Child Rearing in the Philippines

Child rearing in the Philippines takes on a number of different forms throughout
the life of a child.
 As infants, these children are kept very protected and close to the mother.
An emphasis on extreme closeness and dependency is carried on
throughout the toddler years.
 Early childhood is also characterized by indulgence. Children are typically
faced with very few demands and responsibilities and any sign of
unhappiness is addressed with attention from a family member or care
taker.
 Child approaches school age, at this age students are expected to know
the difference between wrong and right and are disciplined with force.
 The strict enforcement of family oriented rules of respect results in
children who have a very strong sense of family and extreme respect for
elders.

Global Differences in Child Rearing

In many countries, mothers get a recuperation period after giving birth, allowing
them time to bond with the child without distractions.
 In China, it lasts for one month, while in Guatemala it lasts nine months.
 Dutch parents don’t push children too hard. The opposite is true in Asia,
where parents believe they have a duty to encourage children from a
young age to achieve academic excellence.
 In Norway, childhood is strongly institutionalized, with kids entering state-
sponsored daycare at the age of one.
 In Japan, children are independent early in childhood, with kids as young
as six getting themselves to school and running errands, even in Tokyo.
In Japanese society, people expect other adults to watch out for and
protect children.
 In Scandinavian countries, there is an emphasis on “friluftsliv,” or open-air
living. This can be seen in the practice of letting children nap outside,
even in wintertime.
 Many kids in China and Vietnam are potty trained, using a whistle,
starting when they are just a few months old
 In the United Kingdom, it’s far more common than in the U.S, for kids to
take a gap year between high school and college. Also, kids in Finland
typically rank high on education tests but don’t start school until they are
seven
 Italian children often drink wine at dinner time along with the adults.