The study investigates everyday parental practices involved in the transmission of
cultural values and extends current literature on parenting in Chinese families.
Children aged 6, 8, and 10 years from 240 Beijing families, and both their parents,
were asked about ways in which expectations of child responsibility are transmitted
through routine requests, reasoning, and negotiation about household work, an area
in which Western parents are known to use such practices. Use of a range of parental
requests and reasons was reported. Few child age or gender differences were found
for reasons related to child responsibility. Child-initiated negotiation was
reported as rare and unacceptable, its use restricted to tagging the relative
importance of different spheres of child responsibility.
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