The Dynamic Interplay of Culture and Parenting Among Chinese Return Migrants in a Globalized World
In an era marked by unprecedented human mobility, the phenomenon of reversed migration—where individuals or families return to their countries of origin after extended periods abroad—has garnered increasing scholarly attention. Among the myriad facets of this social evolution, the reconfiguration of parenting practices among Chinese return migrant families surfaces as a particularly complex and compelling subject. New research illuminates how deeply entrenched cultural norms, shaped initially by individual upbringing, intersect with the lived experiences of migration and resettlement, yielding dynamic and multidimensional adaptations in parenting styles and family interactions.
At its core, the parenting identity of Chinese return migrant parents is profoundly influenced by cultural norms instilled during their formative years. These norms, encompassing values, expectations, and beliefs about child-rearing, form an implicit blueprint that guides parental behavior. Yet, as migration exposes parents to diverse social environments and ideologies, these blueprints undergo reinterpretation and renegotiation. In this process, parents’ early life experiences coexist with, and are often contested by, the normative frameworks encountered overseas, creating a hybridized parental consciousness upon return.
What makes the parenting practices of this demographic particularly nuanced is the interplay between the values carried from their host countries and those preserved from traditional Chinese culture. Returnee parents navigate this interface by selectively integrating elements from both realms, a process that is neither linear nor uniform but contingent on myriad contextual factors. Such factors include the immediate social environment in the home country, the nature of transnational ties maintained during migration, and the extent of children’s own acculturation to globalized norms. Consequently, parenting within these families emerges not as a static stereotype but as a fluid adaptive strategy responsive to ongoing negotiation.
The instability inherent in cultural norms is another crucial observation. The study reveals that cultural expectations of parenting are neither monolithic nor immutable but subject to continuous dialogue and reinterpretation within families. Children and parents engage in reciprocal exchanges that challenge inherited norms and engender mutual accommodation to the changing societal landscapes that both generations inhabit. This dialogical model posits parenting as a co-constructed social practice rather than a one-sided transmission of tradition, highlighting the agency of younger family members in influencing familial culture.
Diverse pre-migration social and cultural contexts also play a pivotal role in shaping the heterogeneity observed among return migrant families. Families originating from varied regional and socio-economic backgrounds differ sharply in how they reconcile past and present cultural demands. This divergence elucidates that adaptation to the return home is far from homogeneous; rather, it is conditioned by distinct life histories and social environments prior to migration, underscoring the importance of contextual sensitivity in understanding parenting adjustments.
Moreover, this research emphasizes that the parenting practices of Chinese return migrants are embedded within larger social matrices, including subcultures existent in their homeland. Returnees confront not only the challenge of reintegration but also the pressures exerted by emerging societal expectations, local norms, and institutional policies. These multi-layered pressures complicate the parenting process, rendering adjustment an iterative and, at times, strenuous endeavor that extends beyond mere cultural readjustment to encompass structural negotiation.
The complexity of parenting among return migrants is further amplified by the interplay between individual family trajectories and broader societal transformations. The intersectionality of migration experience, socio-economic status, educational background, and urban versus rural resettlement contexts converges to produce an array of parenting models, each tailored to specific circumstantial realities. This heterogeneity contests simplistic binaries that contrast “traditional” with “modern” parenting styles, revealing instead a spectrum of adaptive behaviors that defy reductionist categorization.
An intriguing dimension of this study lies in its examination of returnee parents’ dual allegiance—to the cultural frameworks of countries they inhabited abroad and to their native sociocultural roots. This allegiance confines them within a liminal space, where the pressure to uphold inherited values is often at odds with the practical incorporation of new pedagogical strategies and disciplinary approaches encountered overseas. Navigating this tension requires considerable flexibility, reflexivity, and emotional labor, traits that are in turn shaped by parents’ own educational and professional trajectories.
Educational attainment, as highlighted in the study’s participant profile, assumes a critical mediating role in shaping parenting adaptations. The sample predominantly includes highly educated individuals, many of whom have pursued advanced degrees abroad. This collective academic and professional background potentially predisposes participants toward more cosmopolitan attitudes and willingness to experiment with parenting practices divergent from traditional norms. It also suggests channels through which global parenting discourses permeate returnee households, influencing both parental aspirations and child-rearing strategies.
However, the concentration of educational homogeneity among participants simultaneously signals a notable limitation and a direction for future inquiry. The experiences and parenting adaptations of return migrants with varied socio-educational backgrounds remain underexplored. Investigating such diversity could unearth contrasting patterns, bringing to light how disparities in education and employment status affect the negotiation of parenting roles in diverse familial and social environments.
The study’s findings also underscore that parenting challenges met by Chinese return migrants are not solely a function of crossing national borders but are embedded within evolving global and local cultural economies. Migrant parents must grapple with the expectations of local communities that themselves are rapidly transforming under the influences of modernization, urbanization, and technological advancement. This shifting terrain complicates efforts to establish stable, culturally meaningful parenting practices, forcing families to continuously adapt and reconceptualize their parental roles.
Importantly, this research expands current discourses on transnational migration by spotlighting the family as a site of ongoing cultural reproduction and transformation. Chinese return migrant parents do not simply transmit cultural norms; instead, they participate in the active remaking of cultural meanings within translocal contexts. Their parenting is a site where tradition and innovation meet, clash, and ultimately synthesize, producing new forms of family life attuned to the exigencies of a globalized yet locally grounded existence.
Moreover, the internal diversity observed within local families, independent of return migration status, challenges any notion that cultural difference can be straightforwardly mapped onto migratory experience. Variations in parenting styles and cultural expressions within the local population itself reveal the multiplicity and fluidity of cultural norms. Return migrant families, thus, are part of a broader social fabric where evolving parenting paradigms generate ongoing debate and negotiation, indicating a societal shift in conceptions of family and child-rearing.
This discovery holds profound implications not only for policymakers and educators but also for mental health practitioners and social workers engaged with return migrant populations. A nuanced understanding of the dynamic and context-sensitive nature of parenting in these communities is essential for developing culturally responsive support systems that acknowledge the complexities and challenges inherent in return migration and reintegration.
In conclusion, Chinese return migrant parents embody a complex adaptive system of parenting shaped and reshaped through intercultural encounters, shifting social landscapes, and familial negotiations. Their experiences reaffirm that parenting culture is neither static nor universal but an evolving construct deeply entwined with the flux of migration trajectories and social contexts. This research invites a reevaluation of parenting studies to incorporate transnational perspectives and underscores the importance of embracing cultural hybridity and fluidity in understanding family life within an increasingly interconnected world.
Subject of Research:
Chinese return migrant parents’ perspectives on culturally shaped parenting practices within diverse socio-cultural environments.
Article Title:
China’s returned migrant parents’ perspectives on how culture shapes their parenting in a culturally diverse community
Article References:
Lu, J. China’s returned migrant parents’ perspectives on how culture shapes their parenting in a culturally diverse community.
Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 769 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05170-7
Image Credits: AI Generated
