Parental Determinism in the Swedish Strategy for Parenting Support

Abstract

This article analyses and problematises central assumptions in Sweden's National Strategy for Developing Parenting Support, a document that addresses children's deteriorating psychological health. The analysis was performed with Bacchi's (2009) approach to policy analysis. The results show how parental determinism is expressed; psychological ill health among school-aged children is described as an individualised problem caused by insecure parents, who are represented as the most important persons in a child's life and, therefore, are considered to be risk factors that require continuous support. Evidence-based parenting support programmes in particular are described as a central tool for improving parents’ sense of responsibility and parenting skills. While the strategy aims to offer all Swedish parents support, it underlines ideals that have been related to gendered, middle-class notions of parenting. The issue concerning children's psychological health is problematised and discussed in relation to parental determinism, the risk society, equality, equity and psychological health.

Parenting Support Policy in Finland: Responsibility and Competence as Key Attributes of Good Parenting in Parenting Support Projects

“…Responsibility appears as the most important quality and characteristic closely related to good parenthood (cf. Widding, 2018). However, positioning parents as responsible adults emerges differently depending on if the projects adopt the individualised or communal approach.…”

“…Whilst discussions about family responsibilities are not unique, a new emphasis has emerged within political discussions in relation to parenting support (e.g. Widding, 2018). These discussions are also reframing social policy in Finland.…”

Introduction: Parenting Support in the Nordic Countries: Is there a Specific Nordic Model?

“…We have two articles from Sweden in this Themed Section, which complement each other very well, as they analyse previous (Littmarck, Lind and Sandin, 2018) and contemporary (Widding, 2018) strategies of justifying parenting support policies. Littmarck and colleagues' article investigates how the notion of support for parents was adapted to different political ideas, ideologies and ways of defining the relationship between state, family and children from the 1960s until the 2000s.…”

“…The finding, that support for parents has been advocated by those ranging from the political left to the conservatives, is indeed astonishing. Widding's (2018) article analyses and problematises core assumptions in Sweden's National Strategy for Developing Parenting Support (from 2009), which is central for how parenting support in Sweden is understood and implemented today. A central theme in this article is the role the idea of ‘parental determinism’ plays in contemporary Swedish social policy, thus the imagination of parents and parenting practices as a threat or risk to children's development.…”

“…A central theme in this article is the role the idea of ‘parental determinism’ plays in contemporary Swedish social policy, thus the imagination of parents and parenting practices as a threat or risk to children's development. In her criticism of the framing of parenting support as a health-promoting initiative, Widding notes: ‘The call for parents to scrutinise, constantly evaluate and reflect upon how to improve their parenting skills, in a society that already has high demands on self-governance and performance, can probably make the most stable parent uncertain and put under pressure’ (2018: 7).…”