The Moral Gaze: A Pluralistic Analysis of the Impact of Social Judgement on Parents, Parenting and Access to Support, to Benefit Children and Families

Abstract

This paper explores parents' narratives about encountering moralized expectations of parenting. We contribute original and significant findings which identify moralized judgement as a determinant between concealing potential child maltreatment and help-seeking to support child protection and welfare. We adopted a rigorous plural qualitative approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis and narrative analysis of N = 24 parents in England, who had experienced parenting support from children's services. Participants revealed that moral judgements from their birth families and child's school were particularly relevant. While fear of moral judgement deterred parents from open dialogue, feeling accepted and valued enabled greater self-efficacy and acceptance of support needs.