ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter, I presented the social attitudes and parental perceptions of stepparenting and stepfamilies in Hong Kong from the point of view of the stepmothers, teachers and social workers I interviewed. In this chapter I will focus on the parenting behaviours and issues which arise predominantly from stepparenting. The content of this chapter is drawn from the reports given by the ten stepmothers. The sequence of presentation is as follows: firstly, a brief summary of the profiles of the respondents; secondly, the changes and difficulties in the life course experienced by these stepmothers before and after they joined these stepfamilies; and thirdly, the challenges faced by parents in stepfamilies. The discussion will be based upon five themes in parenting behaviours in stepfamilies (Chapter 2 pp.30-46 for concepts discussed).
