Family childhood spatial conflict: A case study of young children's adaptation to family rules based on self-parenting diaries. Issue 2 (June 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zheng, Suhua
• Other Names: Zhu Yan guest-editor.; Wang Yuchen guest-editor.; Xu Yuwei guest-editor.; Tan Run guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Global studies of childhood. Volume 13:Issue 2(2023)
• Page Start: 165
• Page End: 177
• Publication Date: 2023-06
• Subjects: agency -- childhood -- family space -- parent-child conflict -- rules -- young children; Children -- Periodicals; Child development -- Periodicals; 305.23
• DOI: 10.1177/20436106231177888
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2043-6106

Abstract

The family is often thought of as a private space. Relatively little research has been done on the childhood space of the family. Although the family is often considered a warm haven for children to grow up in, it is also a space for child-adult conflict. Based on the researcher's self-parenting diary, this paper uses thematic analysis and discourse critique to explore a 4-year-old girl's triggering, adapting, and even challenging of family rules in a Chinese family, in an attempt to demonstrate parent-child conflict in the family childhood space and explore its manifestations. The study found that families contain a variety of implicit rules, which are usually set and interpreted by parents. Four-year-olds differ from their parents in their understanding of family rules. Young children are predominantly passive adapters when it comes to health and hygiene; in play, they are allowed to show more agency and have more room for negotiation.