Mothers' challenges with the parental control of 3-year-old children in Japan: A qualitative study

Parents often struggle against the negativism of 3-year-old children in exerting parental control. Although most research on parental control is from western cultures, Japanese mothers may face unique challenges because of their sociocultural background. We therefore explored mothers' challenges in exerting parental control over 3-year-old children in Japan.

A descriptive qualitative approach was adopted. The participants were 10 Japanese mothers with children aged 3-4 years. We conducted individual semistructured interviews and analysed the data via qualitative content analysis.

We found four categories and a structure of the challenges mothers faced in exerting parental control. Mothers' control attempts had four main intentions, each with a different subject (i.e., the children, themselves, the family, and society). Most challenges with parental control stemmed from mothers' "consciousness of parental responsibility." In confronting the child in their attempts to exert parental control, mothers perceived a "struggle with the child's negativism," which led them to recognize that they could not find a correct method of discipline. Furthermore, in the face of conflicting roles, mothers experienced "confusion in seeking the righteous answer as a parent." Some mothers began to feel that they were discovering their maternal role in their own way rather than finding a correct answer, which formed a "conviction that my own parenting is not incorrect."

The challenges mothers faced in exerting parental control over their 3-year-old children served as a turning point for them to reflect on themselves as parents. However, due to societal monitoring of parents and mothers' multiple roles in the family, it can be difficult for mothers to fully overcome the challenges of parental control. It is necessary to foster social capital in the community to which the mother belongs and to create an atmosphere in which community members can watch over parents warmly.