ABSTRACT
Parenting and family are important values in South Asian American (SAA) cultures. With families leaving countries of origin, parenting and family life become influenced by both traditions and expectations of the South Asian countries and that of the newer home country. This chapter provides guidance on SAA parenting with a focus on parenting of SAA young and school-age children. South Asian culture is characterized by collectivism. Collectivist cultures organize values, identity, and behaviors around one or more collectives, such as a kinship network, religious group or country, with group values emphasized over individual independence. Acculturation describes the cultural shifts that occur as a result of contact between two or more cultural groups and involves the incorporation of beliefs and behaviors from a new dominant cultural context into a heritage culture. Much of the literature on SAA parenting is derived from experiences raising adolescents.
