Parenting

**Definition**
According to the online //Oxford English Dictionary// (OED, 2015), the verb “parent” in English derives from the Latin word “//parere//”, meaning to bring forth, produce, or beget. The Latin term “//in loco parentis//” denotes persons or institutes taking the responsibilities of parents. In a broad sense, the concept is more concerned with the parenting //activities or practices// than //who// does it. Parenting commonly encompasses a range of activities aiming to prevent a child from adversity or harm and to promote his/her welfare (Hoghughi, 2004). According to Hoghughi (1998), these activities can be categorized into three types. First, //care,// which refers to meeting a child’s need for survival, protection, and comfort. Second, //control//, which involves efforts to set and enforce rules and boundaries. Lastly, //development,// meaning to help a child develop intellectual capabilities.

** Parenting and Social Construction of Childhood **
“Parenting” involves actions of a caregiver in a dyadic relationship with a child. Hence, the values and goals of parenting are inherently related to social construction of children and childhood (Göpfert, Webster, & Nelki, 2004). Documentations of parenting date back to Ancient Egypt, where tomb paintings depicted women and men surrounded by offspring in afterlife (French, 1995). Ancient Greek was thought to be the first to systematically think about childrearing practices, but instead of promoting the welfare of children, childcare was aimed to improve the welfare of the community (French, 1995). From an evolutionary standpoint, children have always been regarded as weak and vulnerable, so providing children with resources and protection is essential to the survival of offspring and the species in a brutal environment (Volk, 2011). Scholars (e.g., Ariès, 1960) have argued that pre-modern views of children were //less sentimental// than those of the contemporary society. The high child mortality rate caused parents to avoid being overly emotionally connected with infants who would probably die (Ariès, 1960). In pre-industrial societies, children were commonly considered as future labors for family economy and the parents’ major financial support in later lives (LeVine & White, 1992). Lower-class children were still deemed as economic assets during development of industry, when there was much demand for labor (Calhoun, 1946). Since the mid-19 th century, being sensitive and loving gradually became central to parenting (Hoghughi, 2004). In middle-upper class, the values of children became much less associated with their labor potential. Rather, children are increasingly seen as individuals who deserve attention and affection (LeVine & White, 1992). In the 20 th century, along with the rise of beliefs that children have rights (UK Children Act, 1989), and they are not “owned” by adults, parenting began to involve the responsibility to protect and deliver these rights (Hoghughi, 2004). Further, western countries promote public care and protection of children, and also child-related jurisprudence (David, 2002). Parenting, in this sense, goes from private to the public and is increasingly formulated in social and legal structures.

** Academic Research about Parenting **
The processes, determinants, and outcomes of parenting have been examined by scholars from various disciplines, such as developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, sociology, and communication. Several major theoretical perspectives provide important guidance for the understanding of parenting. // Theory of attachment // The attachment theory (Bowlby, 1958; 1969/1982) stresses that an infant’s bond with a mother or a primary caregiver has profound implications for the child’s personality and well-being of close relationships in later lives. In particular, when an individual is securely attached to a caregiver since infancy, the caregiver serves as a “secure base” or “safe haven” for the person under stress or adversity (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). Sensitive parenting, by which a caregiver constantly attends to the infant and be responsive to his/her need for proximity, is considered crucial for the formulation of secure attachment (Ainsworth, 1964). // The ecological model // Bronfenbrenner (1979) developed the ecological system theory to explain how a child’s development is influenced by the parents’ ecological context. A child is directly affected by parenting behaviors of a caregiver (i.e., influence of a microsystem), but the styles and effectiveness of parenting would depend on the caregiver’s economic, cultural and social environment, which the child has no direct contact with. For instance, if a parent experiences much stress from work, s/he may pay less attention to the child. Further, economic status and culture are powerful factors that shape parenting practices. // Conceptualization of parenting styles // Maccoby and Martin (1983) proposed a two-dimensional taxonomy of parenting styles. One dimension concerns the extent to which a parent is demanding, and the other dimension is the extent to which a parent is responsive. Parenting style that is high for both dimensions is termed “authoritative”. A combination of high demandingness and low responsiveness is “authoritarian” parenting, whereas a combination of low demandingness and high responsiveness refers to “permissive parenting”. Finally, when a parent scores low for both dimensions, s/he has “neglectful” parenting style. Authoritative parenting tends to produce the best outcome for children in many contexts (Gray & Steinberg, 1999; Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbusch, & Darling, 1992).

** Communication and Parenting **
Communication is a key aspect of parenting and parental influence. The primary socialization theory (Oetting & Donnermeyer, 1998) posits that parents are primary socialization agents of a child, who directly shape the child’s behaviors and views of the world through communication. For example, parents’ communication against substance use may protect underserved adolescents from using substances (Kam, Castro, & Wang, 2014). Immigrant parents may also engage in cultural/ethnic socialization of children by communicating with children about cultural values, rituals and events (Hughes, Rodriguez, Smith, Johnson, Stevenson, & Spicer, 2006). Parents’ communication competence or skills were linked to a number of developmental outcomes of children, including resilience (Brooks, 2005), cultural adaptation (Lee & Chen, 2000), and civic competence (Shah, McLeod, & Lee, 2009). In addition, parenting style (Maccoby & Martin, 1983) was found to be an influencing factor of a child’s communication competence (Hart, Newell, & Roper, 2003). Lastly, there is growing attention on the role of communication technologies in the processes of parenting (Clark, 2012).

** References **
Ainsworth, M. S. (1964). Patterns of attachment behavior shown by the infant in interaction with his mother. //Merrill-Palmer Quarterly of Behavior and Development, 10//, 51-58. Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E. & Wall, S. (1978). //Patterns of attachment. A psychological study of the strange situation.// Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Bowlby, J. (1958). The nature of the child’s tie to his mother. //International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 39//, 350-373. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.1995.tb00090.x   Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). //Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment// (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books. (Original work published 1969, revised in 1982) Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) //The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design.// Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Brooks. R. B. (2005). The power of parenting. In S, Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), //Handbook of resilience in children// (pp. 297-314). Massachusetts: Springer. Calhoun, A. W. (1945). //A social history of the American family: The colonial period).// New York: Barnes and Noble.   Clark, L. S. (2012). //The parent app: Understanding families in the digital age.// New York: Oxford University Press.    David, P. (2002). Implementing the rights of the child: Six reasons why the human rights of children remain a constant challenge. //International Review of Education, 48,// 259-263. doi: 10.1023/A:1020361511359    French, V. (1995) History of parenting. In M. Bornstein (ed.) //Handbook of parenting// (pp.345-476). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.    Gray, M. R., Steinberg, L. (1999). Unpacking authoritative parenting: reassessing a multidimensional construct. //Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61//, 574-87. doi: 10.2307/353561    Göpfert, M., Webster, J., & Nelki, J. (2004). The construction of parenting and its context. In M.Göpfert, J. Webster, & M. Seeman (Eds.), //Parental psychiatric disorder: Distressed parents and their families// (pp. 62-84). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.   Hart, C. H., Newell, L. D., Roper, S. O. (2003). Parenting skills and social-communicative competence in childhood. In J.O. Greene & B.R. Burleson (Eds.) //Handbook of communication and social interaction skill.// Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.    Hughes, D., Rodriguez, J., Smith, E. P., Johnson, D. J., Stevenson, H. C., & Spicer, P. (2006). Parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices: A review of research and directions for future study. //Developmental Psychology, 42,// 747-770. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.747    Hoghughi, M. (1998). The importance of parenting in child health: Doctors as well as the government should do more to support parents. //BMJ, 316,// 1545-1550. Retrieved from http://journals.bmj.com/    Hoghughi, M. (2004). Parenting – an introduction. In M. Hoghughi & L. Nicholas (Eds.) //Handbook of parenting: Theory and research for practice// (pp. 2-19). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.   Kam, J. A., Castro, F. G., Wang, N. (2014). Parent-child communication’s attenuating effects on Mexican-heritage early-stage adolescents’ depressive symptoms and substance use. //Human Communication Research, 41,// 204–225. doi: 10.1111/hcre.12043    Lee, B. K., & Chen, L. (2000). Cultural communication competence and psychological adjustment: A study of Chinese immigrant children’s cross-cultural adaptation in Canada //Communication Research, 27,// 764-792. doi: 10.1177/009365000027006004    LeVine, R. A., & White, M. (1992). The social transformation of childhood. In A. S. Skolnick & J. H. Skolnick (Eds.), //Family in transition// (pp. 291-315)//.// New York: HarperCollins.   Maccohy, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), P. H. Mussen (Series Ed.), //Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Socialization, personality, and social development// (pp.1-101). New York: Wiley.    Oetting, E. R., & Donnermeyer, J. F. (1998). Primary socialization theory: The etiology of drug use and deviance. //Substance Use & Misuse, 33,// 995-1026. Retrieved from http: informahealthcare.com/journal/sum.    Shah, D. V., McLeod, J. M., & Lee, N. (2009). Communication competence as a foundation for civic competence: Processes of socialization into citizenship. //Political Communication, 26//, 102-117. doi:10.1080/10584600802710384   Steinberg, L., Lamborn, S., Dombusch, S., & Darling, N. (1992). Impact of parenting practices on adolescent achievement: Authoritative parenting, school involvement, and encouragement to succeed. // Child Development, 63 ////, //1266-1281. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1992.tb01694.x UK Children Act (1989). Retrieved from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1989/41/contents

Volk, A. (2011). The evolution of childhood. J//ournal of the History of Childhood and Youth, 4,// 470-494. doi: 10.1353/hcy.2011.0042