Overview

Editors:

Lawrie Moloney
Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne

Pranee Liamputtong
Personal Chair in Public Health, School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne

Parenting draws meaning and is shaped by its social, cultural and political millieu, and, consequently, there are diverse parenting roles and practices in different parts of the world. Despite this diversity, most societies share a common value, namely, the preservation of life and the maintenance of the health and wellbeing of their children.

Eight research reports provide insight into parenthood, parenting practice, and the impact on children of family relationships and the complexities to be found within cultural settings - from Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Iran and South Africa to Greece, The Netherlands and United States of America.

There are of course significant differences in customs and social expectations that sit behind the data in each of these studies. Roles and responsibilities will inevitably vary - between mothers and fathers, between immediate and extended family members and between family and the wider society.

However, in the final analysis, one is struck more by the underlying similarities than by the differences. All infants need a protective and protected environment in their early months. All children experience vulnerabilities around parental separation or divorce. Caring for and appreciating children with disabilities seems to have a range of challenges that all parents would recognise. And parental violence seems certain to give children a more shaky start in life, regardless of the culture in which it occurs.

Table of Contents