Parenting in Canada: A Practical Guide for Modern Canadian Families

Parenting in Canada ? what does this look like for an immigrant parent? Most immigrants move to North America in search of a better life for their children. They want them to have a good education, to be safe and to be able to get good jobs. Some of them are highly educated in their countries and they want to have the same or even better lifestyles for their children. When they arrive, they realize that there is more than they bargained for. Children have lots more rights in North America than in most countries. The level of obedience, respect for parents, and discipline are very different and sometimes invisible in many cities. As a result, parents have difficulty adjusting to the new rules. Children can now talk back to their parents and make their own rules, and if they have any problems, they call Children Services (Social Services) and have their parents reprimanded. There is a real danger for both parents and children because some children have been taken from their parents? home and placed in homes that are not familiar with their culture. Protecting children and support families should be the main goal when working with immigrants. They must know the parenting rules of North America and the accepting counties must have some compassion for parents as they adjust to their new culture. In some countries, some parents use very harsh punishment to discipline their children. Beatings and spankings are normal ways of scolding their children to make them behave. Children must honour and obey their parents. They are almost like valuable property that needs to be cherished. Here children are taught in school that spanking is not allowed, and they can call the authorities and their parents will be disciplined or get into trouble. Most children do not realize the severity of the issues. They do not realize that they will be taken away from their homes and there will be an uphill legal battle for the family. This stress and problem can be alleviated by educating the parents about parenting skills in Canada and the US. It will be helpful for accepting counties to understand that these parents love their children, but this was the normal way to discipline their children. They can benefit from parenting classes and allow them the opportunity to work together and raise their children with love, respect and dignity. Most parents will not take their children to Canada to abuse them. They need to understand that normal discipline for some people may look like abuse in Canada and the US, so they need to help them not punish them. Another issue that some immigrants face is the problem of child abandonment. In some countries, working parents may leave young children alone, with relatives or with siblings. They can also ask or inform a neighbour that the children are alone for a few hours. This is not allowed in Canada or the US. There is a minimum age where children can be left alone. All young children must be supervised and cannot be left alone for even 15 minutes. Immigrants need to research social issues and laws about children and parenting and be familiar with what is acceptable for both parents and children. There must be more compassion for families and not take away their children and put them into foster homes. Some children and parents are prone to mental illness due to these ongoing problems. Social workers must try to understand and work with families to help them stay together and not take away the children. Some of them need counselling, training love and compassion. They do not need the added problems of stress, bullying and separation from their children.