Parenting styles and receptiveness (or otherwise) to children’s emotions in the higher social classes

Abstract

How do the consideration of very young children’s emotions and the pursuit of social conformity interact in upper classes? We conducted interviews with 30 parents of children aged 2 to 3 from these social classes. Two parenting styles emerged. The first group consists of parents who are receptive and permissive toward their children’s emotions. The second group consists of parents who place greater importance on child’s social performance. However, all the parents exhibite characteristics of both profiles: they all seek to take care of the child’s psychology without, at the same time, setting aside its social conformation.