Cross-cultural parenting values and child-rearing practices

Psychology and Culture

Lynn's parenting of her son takes an authoritarian approach to child-rearing. In her culture, parental authority is rarely questioned. Not only would she find support in her family, but she would also find support for her parenting decisions in the community and in the Cambodian interpretation of the Buddhist religion. One of the parenting practices that is acceptable in her culture is the use of physical punishment for children. Children are expected to be obedient in her culture and to listen, without argument, when a parent gives instructions. This obedience is part of the authoritarian approach to parenting. In addition, it is clear that she expects the child to conform to her standards. Despite the fact that the child was having a difficult day, she decided to go to the mall, which is reflective of the attitude that children should be obedient.

I think that this question is too broad to answer succinctly. There is a very wide variety in approaches to child rearing in the United States. Some parents in the United States take a very permissive approach, not using any type of discipline in their approach to child-rearing. Other parents are very hands-on with corrective behavior, using discipline without using physical punishment. Some parents use a combination of different disciplinary tactics, including physical punishment. Finally, some parents use primarily physical punishment as a disciplinary tactic for their children. Moreover, these different childrearing approaches and parenting values are evidence of a greater cultural divide. The less educated and less affluent people are, the more likely they are to believe that physical punishment is appropriate. Moreover, people who self-identify as conservative are more likely to take an ownership approach to parenting, suggesting that parents should have the freedom to raise their children as they see fit, including using physical punishment that may be considered abusive by many. As a result, Lynn's values of childrearing are absolutely consistent with some parenting values found in the Unites States, while at complete odds with other values.

3. In my opinion, it is absolutely appropriate to interfere with someone else's cultural practices on certain occasions. Slavery, child-brides, female genital mutilation, the stoning to death of rape victims, and honor killings are just four examples of horrific practices that are related to culture. In the United States, it is fair to say that domestic violence is a cultural practice, because it is prevalent within the culture and accepted by a significant percentage of the population. The fact that a certain practice is a cultural hallmark does not mean that the practice is a good one; there are evil practices in all cultures. To me, the benchmark is whether one's cultural practices infringe upon the basic rights of another human being. If they do, then they must be viewed first as a human rights violation, and second as a cultural practice. It is the responsibility of helping professionals to intervene in human rights violations.