Reflections of parents and parent work practitioners on the changing experiences and circumstances of parenting in Hong Kong

Abstract

Whereas previous research has highlighted the importance of understanding how parenting has become a risky venture from the perspective of risk society, few attempts have been made to explore how parents and practitioners make sense of the changing experiences and circumstances of parenting. By reporting the findings of a focus group study on 43 Hong Kong parents’ and 33 parent work practitioners’ reflections on the changing parental experiences over the past decades, as well as the changing circumstances in which parents raise children, this article discusses how both parents and practitioners found considerable intergenerational changes in parenting and described parenting in today’s Hong Kong society as a risky venture fraught with boundless duties and challenges. The findings suggest that on the one hand, parents’ self-perception is shaped by the risk discourses; on the other hand, parents who are able to reconstitute their reflexive selves can create a space, no matter how tenuous, within which they can have a more positive view of themselves and their children.