Child Rearing And Modernity Among The Igbo Of Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Child rearing which involves nurturing and training a child from childhood to adulthood is pivotal among the Igbo people of Southeast Nigeria because children ensure their continuity. Modernity and the resultant technological innovations have immensely affected child rearing. Using qualitative method, this study seeks to examine the concept of child rearing among the Igbo people of Southeast Nigeria, the extent it was effected by modernity and make recommendation on best child rearing method to adopt. Modernization theory is used as an explanatory framework for this study. It was established that child rearing entails feeding, nurturing, teaching and correcting children to become responsible adults. Child rearing was a communal affair in the traditional Igbo societies. Modernity resulted in most parents living as nuclear families and became solely responsible for child rearing. Socialization with people from other cultures and the modern means of communication have affected children’s behavior and the child rearing style adopted by parents. The study, therefore recommends that parents should consider the personality of their children and their environment before copying child rearing style from other cultures.