ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the parallel circulation of ideas on proper childhood and proper parenthood. It explains the gap between childhood-and parenthood-oriented studies with an in-depth examination of the interrelation between the dominant models of childhood and ideas about proper parenting practices. The book concentrates on how conceptualizing proper childhood through institutions also transports notions of proper parenthood and ultimately affects parenting practices. It explores a case where schooling played a more decisive role in challenging parenting practices than the travelling model of biological relatedness and/or the idea that biological parents constitute the sole option when it comes to proper parenting. The book shifts the emphasis from concrete institutional innovations to the sources of inspiration for young people's desires and dreams about family and parenthood in the context of global mass culture.
