Education


American parenting styles sweep Europe

It’s generally acknowledged that raising a child has geographic variations. In 2009, for example, a study by an international group of academics looked at the way parents in different countries talked about the traits they wanted their children to have. The differences were fascinating. Dutch parents, for example, focused on the Three Rs: rust, reinheid and regelmaat (rest, cleanliness and routine). Italian parents preferred their children to be even-tempered, well-balanced and “simpatico”. American parents, meanwhile, were more likely to want their child to be “intelligent” or “cognitively advanced”.

The US preference represents the shift that has taken place in the way American parents raise their children; the transition from the so-called latchkey kids of the 1980s to the helicoptered and hot-housed children of today. Parenting in European nations has traditionally been more relaxed, yet things are changing here too; more parents are adopting the kind of intensive parenting style common in the US.

Part of it may be down to fears of growing inequality, but the proliferation of expert advice may also be a factor. So where the US leads, will Europe follow? Is intensive parenting here to stay?

Nurture, to get ahead

“[Intensive parenting] is a type of parenting that requires a significant amount of time and money,” says Patrick Ishizuka, a sociology professor at Cornell University who studies intensive parenting. It includes scheduling children for multiple extracurricular activities, as well as advocating for their needs and talents in communications with schools and other institutions.