Introduction to Parenting by Ponzetti (15), parenting is any form in which we bring up or raise our children in the environment we live in, or they are exposed in. Parenting is a form of supporting and promoting the emotional, physical and the education or intellectual period of a child from childhood to adulthood and it is also known as child rearing. The service of parenting is usually supplied by a parent, and it is his or her responsibility to coach and correct the child, and therefore it is advisable to have close contact and relationship with the child to ensure high-quality parenting service. Many communities usually stereotype that adequate parenting should be supplied to the girl child because of the perception that girls are at higher risks in immoral activities which may lead to early pregnancies. However, this has led to the neglect of boys and the tables have changed, putting the boy child in higher risk of immoral activities such as sex trafficking and even sexual harassment and deflation. According to Cross-cultural roots of minority child development
Parenting Methods in Japan and America by Greenfield (28), every community has its ways of parenting according to the cultural beliefs, customs, and even community practices. In this case, we will majorly deal with the Japan parenting and American parenting methods.
Differences in Parenting Methods
The Japanese way of parenting can be classified into two categories that are the distal parenting and proximal parenting. In distal parenting, the parent and the child are not in too close contact while in the proximal parenting, the child and the parent form strong ties and relationship as they are nearby. The Japanese do not talk about their kids while the Americans can offer to tell anyone about their day to day struggle on their kids. The Japanese mothers usually consider any matters to do with their children as a private issue unless they share with their closest friends or relatives as they consider talking about the child's achievements or goals a pretentious way of expression. This is usually applicable since there is much competition in parenting in Japan and therefore it is of great importance that your child gets in the right institution.
Parenting Practices in Japan and America
Furthermore, the Japanese practice first parenting attachment but can neither hug nor kiss. This is evident as you can find a father who has strapped the baby on the back or using a carrier while in the street or during an outing, but you can hardly find him hugging or kissing the child. When it comes to sleeping in a bed, there is even close attachment where the baby sleep in the middle while the father and the mother sleep on the ether sides a practice which is usually attributed to Japanese character of a river. As compared to the American way of practice, hugging and kissing are generally considered as sources of strong bondage between the parents and the children and therefore hugging is of daily practice.
Parenting and Chores
When it comes to working, the American children are usually not expected to perform any chores, and it will hardly take much time to respond or draw any reaction upon the request of service or duty. The American children cannot perform any chores including even taking care of their items such as toys and personal belongings, and this portrays a vast difference between other cultures such as the Japanese. Furthermore, the Japanese treasure fairy tales and the Ogre tales. The Japanese mark festive seasons through sharing of stories from characters of Japanese legends and therefore bringing an impression to a child about how powerful one could be and in turn it instills a sense of motivation towards a particular character. The parents also spend time telling these tales in order to explain and provide adequate information about the roots of the community to the children.
Similarities in Parenting Styles
Despite the differences, it is equally important to note that the Japanese parenting styles convey some similarities with that of the Americans. The first similarity is that in both of the parenting styles, flowers are highly accorded. This even makes progress of making a blossoming garden together as a family which will form a picnic site for the family and hence parks are highly designed. The first baby view on a photo is cherry blossom viewing. This makes the two communities control the playing and running site for children.
Influence of Culture in Parenting
According to. Cultural approaches to parenting by Bornstein (91), the connection of the culture with the children is also one of the significant similarities because culture is what the baby acquires before he or she is born. The culture generates on what the mother eats while the baby is still in the womb to even the sounds he or she hears. After the birth, culture influence rapidly increases, and this will influence the timing of the development of specific skills in children. So in this case in Japan where the parents do not display emotions in public, it is likely the children adopt this culture or method while on the other hand in America where there is a high value of self-expression and assertiveness there is likely of the children to develop this kind of culture at an early age.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that the community customs and cultural belief highly dictate the parenting styles. What the Japanese practice might not as well as be similar to what the Americans practice. All these parenting styles are highly accorded dignity in each community and therefore passed from generation. However, it is important to note that the question "which parenting style is the best?" is not a good question to ask as it may lead to cross-cultural comparison and creates a form of a stereotype of communities.
Works Cited
Bornstein, M. H., Tal, J., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (1991). Parenting in cross-cultural perspective: the United States, France, and Japan. Cultural Approaches to Parenting, 69-90.
Bornstein, M. H., Tamis‐LeMonda, C. S., Tal, J., Ludemann, P., Toda, S., Rahn, C. W., ... & Vardi, D. (1992). Maternal responsiveness to infants in three societies: The United States, France, and Japan. Child Development, 63(4), 808-821.
Greenfield, P. M., & Cocking, R. R. (2014). Cross-cultural roots of minority child development. Psychology Press.
Ponzetti Jr, J. J. (2015). Overview and history of parenting education. In Evidence-based Parenting Education (pp. 29-37). Routledge
Shloim, N., Edelson, L. R., Martin, N., & Hetherington, M. M. (2015). Parenting styles, feeding styles, feeding practices, and weight status in 4– 12-year-old children: a systematic review of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1849.
