The Effects of Children's Gender and Urban-rural Categorical Differences on Parents' Parenting Views

Abstract

With the opening up of the three-child policy, society is paying more and more attention to child rearing. Do parents nowadays have different parenting views towards boys and girls? Does the difference between urban and rural categorization affect parents' views on parenting? This paper utilizes a sample of parents of children aged 0-16 years from the 2020 China Family Tracking Survey Database (CFPS2020), with the independent variables being the gender of the children and the urban-rural classification of the study participants, and the dependent variable being the parenting view. The study found that Chinese parents' traditional views of parenting are still retained, with parents taking a great deal of responsibility for their children's lives and studies, and most of them tending to sacrifice their self-interests for the sake of their children; parents are gradually treating their children equally in terms of their education, and they have high expectations for them regardless of gender. Compared with urban parents, rural parents tend to be more self-sacrificing and responsible for their children.