Introduction
The article titled “Black parents ask for a second look: Parenting under ‘white’ child protection rules in Canada” that will be discussed in this paper was published in Children and Youth Services Review in 2018. The authors are Paul Adjei and Eric Minka, who conducted an extensive study on the parenting styles in black communities in three cities of Canada: Toronto, Winnipeg, and St. John’s. This research was done in the form of individual and group interviews among 130 participants (Adjei & Minka, 2018). This study aimed to demonstrate the substantial variations between strategies used by black and white parents. The authors claimed that the lack of understanding of the former often results in children of color being taken away from their families by Child and Family Services. Indeed, the results of the study suggest that black parents have a more authoritarian approach to upbringing their children, and it is often misunderstood by Canadian white-oriented legislation.
Study Results and Suggestions
The study’s outcomes revealed that parents of color living in Canada are stricter and more controlling towards their children. However, it contradicts the state laws and mindset of the dominant groups. The participants shared their opinions about effective parenting, and their responses often diverged from the traditional Western culture. For example, the interviewed parents stated that good parenting includes the provision of material comfort and resources for a child, assisting in education, and building trustful relationships (Adjei & Minka, 2018). The authors also found that black Canadians’ two predominant parenting styles were authoritarian and permissive. The former refers to excessive control, while the latter is a gentle approach (Adjei & Minka, 2018). In fact, it was found that the main factors that shaped these styles are religious views, modeling from their own parents, and racism (Adjei & Minka, 2018). Notably, the study participants particularly stressed the importance of their children being aware of structural racial discrimination. Hence, all parents’ efforts were directed toward teaching them to avoid it.
Based on these findings, the authors developed one specific recommendation to reduce bias against black parents in Canada. The paper asserts that the state regulations show that Canada is still viewed as a country of people of European descent only, undermining other ethnic and racial minorities (Adjei & Minka, 2018). Therefore, the researchers suggest challenging and revising Canadian legislation related to Child Welfare Services because different cultures may not have identical parenting styles that should not be perceived as child abuse or neglect.
Practical Application
Information provided in this article is essential for the field of Social Service Work. If I were to apply this knowledge, I would ensure that each working group in Child Welfare Organizations has a professional who is either a person of color oneself or knows the minority culture well. In that case, the situations when children are taken away from their parents just because the latter left them home for a neighbor’s supervision will not occur. Furthermore, I would suggest leaders of these organizations lobby legislative changes in the state regulations about parenting. The new laws should consider four different parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, rejecting-neglecting, and permissive (Adjei & Minka, 2018). Additionally, new policies must indicate that in each reported case of potential child abuse, ethnic and cultural backgrounds should be assessed. Lastly, various media channels such as television, newspapers, magazines, and social media can be used to raise Canadians’ awareness of distinctions in customs and traditions of minority groups. Specifically, the main emphasis should be placed on the differences in the approach to raising children.
Social Service Work Intervention at Different Levels
The presented research could be applied to social service work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Micro is an individual level that focuses on the issues of one person or family (Tropman, 2021). The results of this article can be helpful for black parents and families not to feel shame or frustration for their specific parenting styles because the authors showed the importance of each without being judgmental. Mezzo helps groups or individuals-organization interact to resolve communication or other problems (Tropman, 2021). The study outcomes can particularly aid in resolving conflicts between Child Welfare Agencies and people of color who are criticized for not following Western parenting strategies. The macro-level assists large communities or governments in policy management and evaluation (Tropman, 2021). The justification used by the researchers can be provided to the government to convince policymakers to modify Canadian legislation regarding parenting and child protection.
Conclusion
The article discussed in this essay aimed to show that different ethnic groups may have various parenting styles; hence, all families’ cultural backgrounds should be thoroughly evaluated before parents are accused of child abuse. The authors interviewed black individuals in three Canadian cities with the largest prevalence of people of color: Toronto, St. John’s, and Winnipeg. The results showed that the black parenting style combines authoritarian and permissive methods. They believe children must be strictly controlled, instructed, and taught how to behave. At the same time, the participants highlighted the importance of building healthy relationships with the child. Overall, all this information can be applied in social work practice to prevent situations when children are removed from their homes because of incorrect interpretation of child-parent interaction.
References
Adjei, P. B., & Minka, E. (2018). Black parents ask for a second look: Parenting under ‘white’ child protection rules in Canada.Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 511-524. Web.
Tropman, J. E. (2021). Micro, mezzo (meso), and macro: A guide to three levels of social work.MSW Online. Web.