Child Rearing Practices: A Cultural Analysis

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The articles I decided to choose are examining three diverse cultures and seeking to find commonalities and differences that relate to child rearing practices. I wanted to pick different cultures from my own; therefore I selected to analyze the Chinese American, Indian, and Italian cultures. My essay will incorporate summaries for each culture and progress into a comparative review of commonalties and differences. The parenting practices of the Chinese American family is characterized by the ideas of preparing their children through training, being a leader of the household, and providing a loving environment. These methods are essential to implement, because of the high norms our society has placed on Chinese American children. To demonstrate …show more content…
Although setting standards is universal, there are many differences that are apparent when glancing at the standards. These standards are heavily influenced by valuable attributes that have been determined by society. The Chinese American culture expects older children to look after their younger siblings, while also contributing to keeping the house clean and preparing meals. The Indian culture expects children to exude a great deal of respect for their parents/elders and respect rules that have been implemented. The Italian children are expected to become aware of people around them sharing the same space, which causes them to monitor their behavior. A second commonality based on child rearing practices between cultures is the influence of extended family members, and the community. This idea, in particular is applicable to the Indian and Italian cultures. Children within these cultures learn to appreciate the extended members and community, because they are a quintessential part of their life. Raising a child within these particular cultures is a collaborative effort. For example in the Indian culture, the grandparents often live with the family and help provide care for the …show more content…
The Chinese American and Indian cultures opted to raise their children with an authoritarian style of parenting. This style of parenting is characterized by strict rules and a high velocity of control over their children. The Italian approach to parenting is more laissez-faire, where parents are more lenient disciplinarians. The parenting style of each culture is unique, but as we saw in the movie Babies doesn’t necessarily impact how the children go through the stages of development. The stages of development among children happened around the same time, no matter the parenting style. While the Italian culture elects to bring their children to restaurant late at night, the Chinese American culture would choose to leave their children at home with older siblings. This is triggered by the Italians belief that the child’s stages of life should be shared with the extended family members, and the community. This is all contributed to societal beliefs and expectations. Neither way is wrong. I have learned an abundance of information, when it comes to the Chinese American, Indian, and Italian child rearing practices. There were both similarities and differences that were recognizable, which appeared to be unique based on the culture itself. A take away from this assignment is the importance of researching the diverse cultures within your own

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