Parents – September 2019

The United States

of Parenting

How does living in this country and soaking up

the American ethos shape the way you raise your kids?

Five immigrants tell us in their own words.

by ELISSA STRAUSS

WHEN IT COMES to parenting

advice, we Americans love a

good import. Our bookshelves

are filled with child-rearing

manifestos imploring us to

ditch our Yankee ways and

adopt foreign customs. Our

children, we’re promised,

will be more patient, like the

French; independent, like

the Germans; or disciplined,

like the Chinese.

But what are American

parents doing right? To

answer this question, we

asked five immigrants living

in the United States to share

their view of what it means

to parent like an American.

A diverse group, they

hail from all over the world

and have very different

backgrounds. Some came here

for love or opportunity; others

to escape poverty and war.

Naturally, their perspectives

are largely colored by their

pasts, and what they lost and

gained by moving here.

We Americans don’t have

it all figured out. No country

does. Parenting, thankfully,

will never be included in the

Olympics because there is

no one best way to do it. Still,

these mothers and fathers

can help us remember that

there is a lot to feel good

about in the U.S. And that

yes, our kids will be all right.

Hover your

phone’s camera here

to meet the

inspiring parents

in our We Are

Family video series.

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PARENTS 40 SEPTEMBER 2019

KIDSÑVa lues