Percepción de la infancia actual de madres chilenas y alemanas y su relación con el rol materno

Abstract

In recent decades, it has been suggested that the nature of childhood has been changing due to sociocultural shifts of the times and the extensive development and access to technology. This article addresses how mothers from two different cultural contexts, Chile and Germany, perceive changes in childhood and how these have affected their own maternal role. To do this, a qualitative, descriptive-scope study with a phenomenological design is conducted, involving six focus groups, three with German mothers and three with Chilean mothers of school-aged children. The question 'What are today's children like?' is explored, and the information collected is analyzed using content analysis and the application of open and axial coding. The results show that mothers from both contexts perceive positive aspects such as greater independence in children and their increased ability to establish horizontal relationships with adults. However, Chilean mothers mention an increase in socio-emotional problems in childhood, and German mothers refer to the adultification of childhood. It is concluded that mothers from both contexts perceive an experiential distance between their own childhood and that of their children, which impacts their experience of their maternal role.