Background: Globalization is reshaping parenting practices worldwide by exposing families to diverse cultural values and lifestyles. Parents today navigate a complex interplay of traditional cultural norms, socio-economic conditions, and rapid advancements in technology and media, all complicating the task of child-rearing (Rajput, 2024). This study examined how young adults in India view current parenting practices and their future parenting values, offering valuable insights into the evolution of parenting in a globalized world.
Methods: Sixty young adults from across India (ages 20-30, 50/50 gender distribution) participated in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews, answering the following questions: 1) How do you think other countries influence the way people raise their children in India? 2) If you were a parent, what values would you like to instill in your children? Thematic analysis in NVivo software explored participants' perceptions of current parenting practices and their aspirations for future parenting.
Results: Participants noted the spread of Western values (gender equality, individual freedom, and scientific thinking) in Indian society, which encouraged more democratic parent-child relationships, greater openness to children's opinions, and more flexible approaches to discipline, career expectations, and marriage arrangements. However, many were concerned that these developments might erode culture, with children losing respect for their elders, disconnecting from their families, and forgetting their roots. When envisioning their own parenting, youth often blended traditional and global orientations, planning to instill in their children respect for elders, compassion, and cultural pride, along with modern values of critical thinking, independence, and gender equality.
Conclusion: The current findings suggest that young adults in India view parenting as a dynamic process of balancing global influences with cultural continuity, which aims to raise children rooted in tradition who are also equipped to thrive in a globalized world. These results highlight the adaptive and reflective nature of parenting in the age of globalization.