Raising Children in Two Different Cultures

Chinese parents feel that their children have a responsibility to obey them and pay them back for their efforts in raising them. American parents, on the

Yet in America, it is quite different. As stated by Paul Hockings, the Indian culture believes that a woman must obey the men in their lives in a certain order. For instance, a woman should obey her father first, next her husband, and finally her son. The head male of the family, whether it is the father, husband, or son is in charge of the entire family. The head male is also important in arranging marriages. The head male of the family, has to compensate or receive compensation at the time of a child’s marriage. In the Indian culture, the primary purpose of a marriage is to bring families together. It is usually not done out of love or romance. If a marriage is not approved or arranged by the parents involved, then the act is frowned upon. In America, marriages are not typically arranged and people do not receive compensation during a

The history is what influenced and helped shape the structure, roles and meaning of family for American Indians today. American Indian’s family is fictive and nonfictive kin, extended family, tribal community, and the nation of American Indians as a whole today. Native American cultures differed with individuality and

Family identity is important to develop who they will be in the world, a family's values, goals and vision help build a strong foundation that will mold someone into a productive member of society. Family relationships are the building blocks that lead to strong moral values. Respect, honesty and trust are all developed with family members. The stronger the bond in the family, the stronger the moral values will be as a person grows up. If the family doesn’t have strong values, skills will develop based off the environment. This can be a tough thing to learn, not

The final cross cultural difference I will discuss is the collectivist culture of India versus the individualistic culture of the United States. India is more of a collectivist culture, whereas the U.S. is strongly individualistic. The family is at the center of Indian society, which is largely patriarchal. Several generations of a family are brought together to live in one household. The hierarchical nature of the Indian culture extends into the family as well, where the head of the family makes the key decisions for the household (Kumar, 2005). An Indian’s primary loyalty usually lies with their family rather than with their

A famous actor, Michael J. Fox once said, “Family is not an important thing it is everything”. In the same way, family will be with one through hard times and love one no matter what. The two stories that best prove family is the cultural element that informs the way individuals view others and the world are Two Ways to Belong in America and By Any Other Name. The impact family has on cultural perspective can be clearly seen when one views the teachings, names, books, and tradition. However, family might not always be the best cultural element, because family may disappoint one or not help them. Despite this, family will still be there for their children at difficult times to help them get through their struggles. Family is the cultural

In India, mostly families live in a joint environment that is all the children (especially the boys) stay with their parents when they grow-up or get married or have their own children. The thought behind this

The Western parent allows the child to show interest in a subject or activity, then allows them to explore this interest, whereas the Chinese style parent chooses school subjects and activities. Allowing the children to first show interest in an activity helps to set the child up for success. If the child likes an activity, they are more likely to practice or develop skills because they enjoy it, and are not being forced into it. This may help their self-esteem as well, because they will be doing something they like, instead of being forced to do something that they may not have a natural aptitude for and run the risk of failing. In addition to the close development choices of the Western parent, they try to enhance the social development as well. They do this by sending the children to sleep-away camps, or a friend’s house for a sleepover. The Chinese parent doesn’t allow the children to attend sleepovers, school dances, sports events, etc. I think some children of the Western parents love the way they were raised and allowed to explore and make their own decisions growing up. I also believe there may be some children of Western parents that wish their parents had been stricter, or pushed them more when they were younger.

This joint family, like any social organization, must face problems such as acceptable division of work, relationships and specific family roles. These familial relationships are managed on the basis of a secular hierarchical principle. In fact, all Indians owe respect and obedience to the head of the family, who usually is the father or the oldest man of the family community. In The Gift of a Bride: A Tale of Anthropology, Matrimony and Murder by Nanda and Gregg, it is explained that, “females [are] placed under the perpetual guardianship of first their fathers and elder brothers, then their husbands.” (Nanda & Gregg 22) Thus, all the spending decisions, studies and profession, or marriage, are exclusively the responsibility of the father after the possible discussions with the other men of the family. Age and sex are the basic principles of this hierarchical system. The eldest sons enjoy greater unchallenged authority than their cadets. Of course men have more authority than women, but older married women have an important role within the family. In fact, the authority of a woman depends on the rank of her husband inside the group. Traditionally, the wife of the patriarch rules over domestic affairs and has considerable power over the other women in the community, especially her daughters- in-law.

At a very young age culture and our surroundings teach us that we must keep family close. The thought of family unity many times will make or break a child. If home life is rough due to family separation, the child will be greatly affected. Family ties run deep no matter what culture one is a part of; it just seems to be more evident in the Afghan culture. In the Afghan culture, a dominant sense of the primary importance of family causes children to want nothing more than to impress their parents.

In most cultures, family plays a big role in one’s life. Family helps shapes people into who they become by giving

The consolidated nature of Indian families gives extended family members the power to have great influence over their younger relatives. If this aspect of Indian family life holds true, then it is natural for parents to have a colossal amount of influence over their children. In the Indian culture, parents are a symbol of unquestionable authority and the unmovable force of their household. We can see that Indian children are educated

Authoritative parents “set standards, but also give their child choices. They recognize the good things that their child does, but they do not overlook the bad things. These parents are more confident and nurturing. They set standards that their child can meet. Usually, this type of parenting leads to a positive self-image in the child (Black, 2008). Permissive parents “do not control their children, it is more like the other way around. There is no discipline, and the child grows up knowing they can get whatever they want. When the parent does try to discipline, the child doesn't take it seriously. These parents give in easily and avoid confrontation whenever possible” (Black, 2008). In general American parents raise their children to have an individual personality, and to be independent from a very young age. “Firm disciplines are directed toward the infant and these are gradually relaxed as the child grows” (Suzuki, 2000).

For as long as humans have existed, there has been the practice of two members of the human species coming together to raise their offspring. This practice is commonly known as parenting and over the course of the millenniums several styles or, ways of parenting have emerged from different cultures. The focus of this paper will be over two distinct styles of parenting: Chinese-style parenting and Western-style parenting. These two styles can be compared to the parenting style described by Psychologist Diana Baumrind; equating Chinese-style to Authoritarian parenting and Western-style to Authoritative parenting. With Chinese-style being shown as similar to a dictatorship and Western-style being shown as more of a democracy. As a result, Chinese parents believe Western-style is weaker, for focusing on a child’s emotional and mental well-being and allowing children to be independent and respected, but it can also be said these are Western parenting strongest points.

     This patriarchal role of males in the Indian family allows for all the power to be placed on the father of the household. This power can be abused which I would assume happens with the children in these families. The oldest male child has the authority to boss around his other siblings, and in the death of his father he then becomes the leader of the household. This could lead to many harsh or unfair ruling by older siblings or by other members of society. This would lead for the younger sibling to have to adjust greatly as they grow into adulthood. These rules that govern Indian household are often strict and are always final. This is accepted by all.