What's Best for Children? The Norm of Intensive Parenting, Its Socio-Economic Determinants and Possible Consequences for Childbearing Aspirations

Marta Bryzek , Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw
Magda Marcinkowska, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw
Monika Mynarska , Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw
Dominika Karas, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw

“Intensive parenting” relates the contemporary standard of parenting, which assumes that correct child-rearing centres family’s life around children in order to give them a best possible start in life, also because offspring’s intelligence and achievements can reflect on a parent. This approach involves satisfying not only children’s fundamental needs but also going above and beyond, creating a strain on parental time and money. Regardless of the growing interests in the concept, knowledge on determinants and consequences of intensive parenting is still limited. So far, the most research into intensive parenting has been done in Anglo-Saxon countries and placed intensive parenting as a norm typical for middle class. Some recent studies challenged this assumption, however. Even less is known on whether trying to fulfil the rising standards of parenting would lead to limiting people’s childbearing aspirations. In our study, we want to examine how socio-economic characteristics are related to the norm of intensive parenting and what consequences the norm has for people’s childbearing aspirations? We will make use of the CRONOS data (carried out as a part of European Social Survey in 2017, in three European countries: Estonia, Great Britain and Slovenia) to examine how support for the child-centred approach (the core aspect of intensive parenting) varies by socio-economic status (education and material status). Additionally, we will investigate whether the ideal number of children that a person would like to have depends on respondent’s support for the child-centred approach, and whether this effect varies by respondent’s socio-economic status.

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 Presented in Session 75. Child care and family