Parenting Practices of Indian Culture

INDIAN CULTURES


                                                     

' NAMASTE'

The life of Indians is centered in the family. Extended families often live together, with two or more adult generations, or brothers, sharing a house. Hinduism is the predominant religion ofIndian people and over 80% of Indians identify themselves as Hindu (Office of the Indian Registrar, 2001).

Discipline

One common trait you will find amongst Indians is that children show utmost respect to their elders. Now this is one habit all Indian parents deliberately inculcate in their children, since beginning. It is an unsaid rule in India that a person cannot answer back to elders and more so, when he/she is at fault. It is deemed disrespectful in India to refer to an elder by his / her name. Instead people prefer calling them uncle and aunt, especially if the person is very elderly. It is also customary in India for the youngsters to touch the feet of their elders as a way of greeting as well as on important occasions.

Life

Individuals are also ranked according to their wealth and power. For example, some powerful people, or “big men,” sit confidently on chairs, while “little men” come before them to make requests, either standing or squatting not presuming to sit beside a man of high status as an equal.
                                                                    

                                                                  Marriage
Marriage is deemed essential for virtually everyone in India, marking the great watershed in life for the individual. For most of Hindu northern and central India, marriages are arranged within the caste between unrelated young people who may never have met. Among some south Indians communities, families seek to strengthen existing kin ties through marriages with cousins whenever possible. For every parent, finding the perfect partner for one’s child is a challenging task. People use their existing social networks, and increasingly, matrimonial newspaper advertisements. The advertisements usually announce religion, caste, educational qualifications, physical features, and earning capacity, and may hint at dowry size (even though giving or accepting dowries is actually illegal).

Conservative means holding to traditional attitudes and value, cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion. Conservative term applies in Hinduism where Hindu women of conservative families veil their faces and remain silent in the presence of older male in-laws, both at home and in the community. A young daughter-in-law even veils from her mother-in-law. These practices emphasize respect relationships, limit unapproved encounters, and enhance family lines of authority.
                                                           

                                    

Socialization

Societal hierarchy is evident in caste groups, amongst individuals, and in family and kinship groups. Castes are primarily associated with Hinduism, but caste-like groups also exist among Muslims, Indian, Christians, and other religious communities. Within most villages or towns, everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and behavior is constantly shaped by this knowledge. 

Socialization of children in Indian families in the traditional setting tended to focus on sociocultural continuity rather than change. However, this emphasis on continuity is gradually giving way to respect for initiative, which was not a feature of traditional upbringing. The present study is attempting to draw attention to transitional aspects of child rearing, which is showing signs of significant changes in parent-child interactions. There is two point of view one can consider as basis of socialization, traditional and modern.

Modern Indian

                            

Traditional Indian

According to traditional view of socialization in Indian context, a good child, in traditional context may be described as humble, intelligent, although not necessarily brilliant, kind to small babies and animals, religious, in sense of going to temple once a day, noninterfering, and well-behaved in not being mischievous and avoiding quarrels with other children. He should,  above all, be obedient and respectful to elders.

The whole family is involved in rearing of children. Socialization of children is not the exclusive responsibility of their parents in the Indian home. Where the grandparents are alive, the parents occupy a secondary role in disciplining and bringing up the children. The grandmother or aunt often becomes an important influence in the lives of young people.In the Indian household, lines of hierarchy and authority are clearly drawn, and ideals of conduct help maintain family harmony. All family members are socialized to accept the authority of those above them in the hierarchy. The eldest male acts as family head, and his wife supervises her daughters-in-law, among whom the youngest has the least authority. Reciprocally, those in authority accept responsibility for meeting the needs of other family members.

Academic

Many Indians are part of the Malaysian working class also exists a large group of educated upper middle class professionals. Indians are well represented in Malaysian medical and legal fraternities. Indians also form a large portion of English language teachers in Malaysia. Law and medicine have traditionally been the preferred career choices in Indian families although more young Indian Malaysians are now venturing into other fields such as engineering, finance and entrepreneurship. Ananda Krishnan and Tony Fernandes are examples of notable Malaysian tycoons of Indian heritage. Some being sent to Tamil primary schools and use Tamil as the medium of instruction while Malay and English are being taught in Kebangsaan school, Indian childrens are succeeding well in studies.

REFERENCE

 Indian Society and Ways of living, 

http://asiasociety.org/indian-society-and-ways-living?page=0,0 (accessed December 8, 2015)

Lifestyle, http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-traditions/lifestyle.html (accessed December 8, 2015)

2015.M.Gail Hickey   

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/48512201_Asian_Indian_Family_Socialization_Patterns_and_Implications_for_American_Schooling

Kurian,G,Ghosh,R:Changing Authority Within the Context of Socialization in Indian Families,Vol.53,No.1

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41886219?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents