Children, Young People and Families > Childhood and Youth Studies
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Parental determinism is a term coined by sociologist Frank Furedi to describe and critique an argument directly associating parents’ quotidian behaviour with their children’s outcomes and therefore, the future of society. This study involved qualitative interviews with 22 mothers living in Scotland to examine their views about the ideals of parental determinism and suggest possible factors explaining the varying endorsement. Of the mothers who more highly endorsed parental determinism, several reported poor experiences of being parented themselves. All the mothers of autistic children expressed some critique of the idea that parental action is solely responsible for children’s outcomes. The former variance may be due to perceived links between their own childhood experiences and later mental health issues, and the latter due to their children not responding to parental action as expected. These factors may highlight and minimise the perceived importance, to the mothers, of parenting behaviours.
In 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, resulting in one of the largest refugee crises in Europe. Switzerland took in around 60,000 Ukrainian refugees, many of whom were children. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Ukrainian refugee children (aged 8–14) who participated in the WoKidS (Children’s Well-being in German-Speaking Switzerland) project, we reconstruct the importance of family for their subjective well-being by addressing three interrelated aspects: home, objects and relationships. We argue that, despite experiencing adverse situations, refugee children are active participants in the processes of homemaking and the promotion of family co-presence and care across borders. Furthermore, the children’s perspectives expand our understanding of (transnational) families and (transnational) care, showing that well-being is relational and challenging the notion of family as ‘left behind’.
This is the story of a young girl who grew up in Moldova with parents working abroad, and is complementary to the scholarly articles discussing children’s situations in this special issue. Her story is invaluable at a time when children’s participation – really listening to their voices – is increasingly in demand in the social sciences. Reading this story, we understand the ‘vulnerability’ of the children in this special issue, but we are especially struck by the ‘agency’ they show.
For many years, thousands of children in Moldova had to stay behind while their parents migrated abroad for a better income. This article reflects on the impact of parental migration on young adults’ future aspirations and prospects. The research presented here is based on grounded theory research that includes interviews with former stay-behind children. The children’s plans for their future are not only shaped by the difficult conditions prevailing in the Moldovan labour market. In addition, they are influenced by their parents’ experience of strongly regulated migration and their hope to give their children a better life. Due to their parents’ support and their own educational performance, these young adults find easier conditions for migration and are able to shape their prospective family life in a way that avoids leaving their children behind.
This article asks the following questions: how do parents see relocating to India as beneficial to their children’s upward social mobility? What role do their children have in facilitating their family’s social mobility strategies? How does growing up in India affect return migrants’ children’s relationship to and understanding of their ethnic identity? This article addresses these questions by analysing interviews with return migrant parents and their children from 35 families. These families relocated from the US to Bangalore, a city in southwest India. The analysis reveals how middle- and upper-class return migrant parents prepare their children for future success in a way that promotes their children’s agency and affirms their ethnic identity.
This empirical analysis delves into the complexities of transnational family relations and experiences of growing up in Somali refugee families in Germany from the parents’ perspective. By employing the theoretical framework of figurational analysis with a focus on established-outsider relations (Elias and Scotson, 1994), we gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of power and recognition. Using the documentary method and ethnography, our interpretations of three families reveal their simultaneous local and transnational establishment efforts. The figuration of ‘arrival families’ emerges from these efforts highlighting the shared intergenerational practices and orientations of refugees.
This Open Space feature introduces us to the profound challenges that arise when providing human and humanitarian support to Ukrainian refugee children in Romania. Limited resources, the support for Ukrainian refugees by the general public in Romania, and the need to offer diverse programmes to meet diverse needs are just some of the obstacles to overcome. It shows us how Terre des hommes Romania promotes the latest insights from recent research, supporting families in protecting children and the meaningful participation of children in the decisions that concern them.
This analysis examines literary representations of migrating mothers in seven Polish children’s and young adult books on transnational families, evaluated through grounded theory. While media discourse oversimplifies migration as a deviation from the normative ideal of the present mother, resulting in the deprecating label ‘Euro-orphans’, literary depictions offer a more nuanced perspective. The study identifies three distinct types of mothers – ‘deviant’, ‘incomplete’ and ‘complete’ – with migration portrayed as a juncture in family life that challenges their maternal status. The narratives reveal different family trajectories and obstacles while offering nuanced portrayals of mothers, including their biographies and character traits. Ultimately, however, they reinforce conventional norms of ‘good’ motherhood by portraying transnational family and motherhood as deviations from the norm. Nonetheless, the narratives acknowledge children’s active roles in co-shaping their family arrangements and the evolving status of the ‘good’ mother, emphasising that children are not merely victims of their circumstances.
This article explores how an international network on transnational families, Transnational Family Dynamics in Europe (TraFaDy), which involves some of the authors of this special issue, can try to help deepen knowledge and joint action among different groups of stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations and researchers. It shows the current background that makes a down-to-earth and family-oriented approach to the migration debate very difficult. The societal context includes the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that deeply affected family life, the defensive spirit leading the debate on ‘migration waves’ and, contrary to this, the discussion on the need for skilled workers. The article takes a political and admittedly Western European-based approach to the challenges and opportunities that may arise; in particular, it refers to the recently adopted but still intensely debated new EU Asylum and Migration Pact.
