Parenting dilemmas: Syrian refugee families resettled in the UK

Abstract

Drawing on ethnographic research, we explore challenges associated with parenting practices within Syrian refugee families who came to Oxfordshire, UK, through a third-country resettlement programme. Adapting to a new living environment with differing socio-cultural norms, parents experienced dilemmas and difficulties related to transmitting Arab-Islamic cultural values and religious practices to their children while simultaneously wishing for their children’s smooth integration into the host country. Some challenges were exacerbated by declining parental authority and the absence of extended family support, on which their previous child-rearing practices were based. Because resettled refugees arrived in the UK with little knowledge of the host society, unlike immigrants who choose their destination based on existing knowledge and networks, child-rearing by resettled refugee parents can be overwhelming and stressful, and should be understood differently from that of immigrant parents.