| dc.description.abstract | It can be argued that there is no correct formula for parenting worldwide although child
legislation enshrined in the national and international legal & policy framework guide the
children upbringing by their parents or guardians. However, these are activated differently
depending on the context within which they are being implemented. Similarly immigrants
with children are likely to be entangled in contextual differences of what parenting should be.
Any parent feels that his or her ways of parenting are the best; even though these may be
contrary to particular societal norms where migration occurs. The immigrants come with
several cognitions about parenting but migrating to another country makes the need for
change and ideological conflict quite inevitable. Therefore, the study was meant to assess
how Ugandan-migrant mothers perceived parenting, what influences modeled their current
parenting and how impacts on relationships with their children were likely to be presented.
The study was purely qualitative based on exploratory and descriptive analysis of the
findings. The primary respondents were Ugandan-migrant mothers in Gothenburg, Sweden;
specifically those with children under the age of 18 years. Six (6) out of the planned eight (8)
respondents participated in the study. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect
the data. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis and themes are illustrated under the
chapter of findings and discussed using the appropriate theoretical framework relevant to
parenting.
The main findings ranged from a)- Ugandan-migrant mothers understood parenting as role
modeling, creating friendship with the child, loving the child, teaching and guiding, b)-living
as immigrant parents, they commanded discipline and respect from children, understanding
their children’s friendship networks, requiring them to integrate but also retain cultural
values, c)-mothers reported Swedish supportive initiatives on parenting like providing childfinancial
support, free education and health services, access to information technology, as
well as social activities for their children d)-Challenges to their parenting involved preserving
culture. Swedish child protective laws were reported as potential threats to weakening their
parental authority, racism & discrimination which they felt would affect their children’s
psychological and emotional development e)-they believed that they had to create more time
for their children despite their busy schedules since there were no extended family members
to give a helping hand as is the case in Uganda, the role of state in parenting was evident f)-
the migrant mother-child relationships were based on openness & negotiation as emphasized
in the Swedish context. The mutual benefit between mothers and children were noted as
unheard of in the pure Swedish families. More so, mothers remained protective and strict on
shaping children’s behavior through denial of materials because physical punishment was
abolished in Sweden. In a general overview, the mothers’ parenting paradigm had been
slightly altered to fit that of the Swedish society, although their African sentimentalism about
parenting had not completely vanished. Hybrids of African and Swedish parenting
approaches were interchangeably applied. | sv |
