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Chapter 10 - Culture and the Challenges of Being a Good Parent

from Part IV - Current Trends

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2024

By
Sara Harkness ,
Charles M. Super ,
Marjolijn J. M. Blom ,
Ughetta Moscardino ,
Sabrina Bonichini ,
Moises Rios Bermudez ,
Jong-Hay Rha ,
Barbara Welles  and
Olaf Zylicz
Edited by
Isabelle Roskam ,
James J. Gross  and
Moïra Mikolajczak
Isabelle Roskam
Affiliation:
Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
James J. Gross
Affiliation:
University of California, Berkeley
Moïra Mikolajczak
Affiliation:
Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
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Summary

Culture sets the agenda for parenting and defines what being a good parent entails. In this chapter, we review evidence for this point from both the popular literature and from cross-cultural academic research, including our own. Parenting ideas and practices in the United States, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia are described as they relate to the challenges of being a good parent. Particular attention is given to the role of culturally based parental ethnotheories as a basis for action and reflection on oneself as a parent. The chapter concludes with consideration of how current rapid culture change creates new challenges for being a good parent and thus for emotion regulation and a sense of well-being.

Keywords

cultureemotion regulationparental ethnotheories
Type
Chapter
Information
Emotion Regulation and Parenting , pp. 189 - 204
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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