Is there an equivalent for "parenting" in Chinese?

[tooironic]

This is something that has stumped me for a while.

Does Chinese actually have a word for "parenting" like English does?

My understanding was the Chinese group "parenting" and "education" under the same general concept of 教育, the only difference being the parent is the one in charge in the former situation, while the teacher is charge in the latter. I also understand that in English "education" has a distinctly "classroom" or "institutional" connotation so to say a parent should educate their child in effect actually means they should put them in school.

I've also seen "parenting" translated as 教养 and 家教, but I'm not sure these two involve exactly the same thing. I would appreciate it if someone could shed some light on this. Thanks.

Also, how would you translate "parenting classes" and "parenting styles" (e.g. strict, permissive, etc.)?

[Kenny同志]

In Chinese, 'parenting' is 養育, which literally means 養(bring up; nurture)+育（educate). Example: 養育子女.

教養 is cultivatedness, which is often attributed to 家教(parental education?).

Also, how would you translate "parenting classes" and "parenting styles" (e.g. strict, permissive, etc.)?

What do you mean by 'parenting classes'?

Speaking of 'parenting styles', I'd translate it as 教養（孩子的）風格, but then again, the translation really depends on the context. For example, rather than translating 'parenting' as 教養, I'd go with 家教嚴 for 'a strict parenting style'.

PS: 教養 can be used as a verb, too.

[OneEye]

Kenny, what's the difference between those and 親子教育? I see that in Taiwan a lot, and it's usually translated as "parenting." Parenting Magazine is called 親子天下 here. Of course, there is one book store near my university that translates it as "Kiss the child education."

[li3wei1]

I've seen 家教 used to mean tutor or tutoring, and I think also home-schooling (where the child is taken out of school and taught at home by the parents or private tutors). So that could be confusing.

Kenny: Parenting classes are for people who are either not confident about their ability to raise children, or are finding it difficult, or have been identified by the state as needing some instruction in the subject. A little like the classes you have to go to when you've been caught speeding or drunk driving.

[tooironic]

Some very interesting points have already been raised.

1. 養育子女

Kenny, thank you for the translation you gave of parenting as 養育子女. Although this is literally back-translated as "bringing up children", I think that's about as close to the notion of "parenting" as we are going to get.

2. 教养

I agree that 教养 is a slightly different concept, as it in fact refers to 教育抚养 and 文化品德方面的修养. AFAIK there is no exact word for this in English ("cultivatedness" sounds very vague to my ears), but I suppose we could translate it as "upbringing" for lack of a better word.

3. 家教

家教 is a very interesting word. Of course it can mean 家庭教师 ("tutor"), but here we are talking about the sense of 家教 as in 家长在礼仪、道德等方面对子女进行的教育. Literally it can be translated as "family education", but this English phrase sounds meaningless to me. Perhaps there is no exact equivalent.

4. 亲子教育

This looks like an interesting term, but not commonly used in mainland China. Hoping more people can give their input on this.

5. "parenting styles"

家教严 is an excellent translation for "strict parenting style", I wonder what its antonym is (i.e. so-called "permissive parenting" in English)? 管得不严？放任自由？

6. "parenting classes"

My understanding of a "parenting class" is a class where mums and dads can learn how to be better parents. The best translation I can come up with off the top of my head is 子女教育课程. Any one have any other ideas? Kenny同志请教一下。

谢谢！

[Kenny同志]

Kenny, what's the difference between those and 親子教育?

 

I didn’t know much about this term. After a quick search on baidu.com, I found this. Hope it helps.

 

亲子教育是20世纪末期在美国、日本和我国台湾等地兴起的一种新的教育模式。要了解什么是亲子教育，首先应明确什么是亲子关系。亲子关系主要是父母亲与孩子之间的关系。对于什么是亲子教育，还没有一个很规范、统一的定义，我们可以通过它与家庭教育的比较，理解其含义。

一提家庭教育，我们就知道是家庭中的长者对孩子的单向教育，父母是家长，具有威严的、不可侵犯的地位。而亲子教育给 人的感觉则亲切、温和得多，它强调父母、孩子在平等的情感沟通的基础上双方互动，而且亲子教育涵盖了父母教育和子女教育两方面。它是通过对父母的培训和提 升而达到的对亲子关系的调适，从而更好地促进儿童身心健康、和谐地发展。

当代年轻的父母们，在成为父母之前并没有接受过如何教养子女的专业训练。现阶段家庭教育中普遍存在的重婴幼儿智力开发， 轻个性、情感和良好习惯的培养；对孩子过多限制、过度保护导致许多孩子自理能力差，自主性差；因为都是独生子女，导致婴幼儿缺乏一起交流玩耍的伙伴；有些 家庭隔代抚养或请保姆照管孩子，导致家庭亲子关系生疏……所有这些问题都与父母的教养素质有关系，所以许多教育工作者提出，儿童教育的重心应由儿童本身移 向与儿童成长密切相关的关键人身上。因此，要培养健全的儿童，首先父母就应转变教育观念，提高教育能力，并掌握有效的教育方法。

虽然亲子教育在我国刚刚起步，但有关亲子教育的书刊、音像资料很多，还有各种亲子教育讲座、亲子教育咨询热线和网站，北京、 上海等大城市的一些社区还有专门的亲子教育辅导员深入千家万户作指导。近几年，各种各样的亲子教育机构如亲子教育研究所、亲子俱乐部、早教中心、亲子园等 等也在各大中城市建立起来，所有这些都可以促使父母自身素质不断提高和完善，并帮助父母更加了解自己的孩子，以更积极、主动、平等的态度和孩子沟通、互 动，既有助于改善亲子关系，增进亲情，更有助于婴幼儿健康成长和发展。

 

 

6. "parenting classes"

My understanding of a "parenting class" is a class where mums and dads can learn how to be better parents. The best translation I can come up with off the top of my head is 子女教育课程. Any one have any other ideas? Kenny同志请教一下。

 

Kenny: Parenting classes are for people who are either not confident about their ability to raise children, or are finding it difficult, or have been identified by the state as needing some instruction in the subject. A little like the classes you have to go to when you've been caught speeding or drunk driving.

I’d translate it as 育子課. Note that in ancient Chinese texts, 子 can mean both sons and daughters.

 

1. 養育子女

Kenny, thank you for the translation you gave of parenting as 養育子女. Although this is literally back-translated as "bringing up children", I think that's about as close to the notion of "parenting" as we are going to get.

 

I should add that if parenting is more about helping one’s children to develop ideas, proper views, and good manners, 教養 (as a verb) might come closer. Literally, 教養 and 養育 mean the same thing but their emphases are rather different.

 

5. "parenting styles"

家教严 is an excellent translation for "strict parenting style", I wonder what its antonym is (i.e. so-called "permissive parenting" in English)? 管得不严？放任自由？

 

That's 家教鬆(a bit formal), or as you have proposed, 管得不嚴(informal).

 

Edited at 8:30 am.

[semantic nuance]

 

 

how would you translate "parenting classes" and "parenting styles" (e.g. strict, permissive, etc.)?

 

parenting classes, according to your explanations, can be translated as '親子教養課程'.

 

parenting styles: 管教方式

 

parenting, may be understood as '父/母親教養孩子'的態度及方式, we called it 親子教育 in Taiwan.

 

 

 

I wonder what its antonym is (i.e. so-called "permissive parenting" in English)? 管得不严？放任自由？

 

When I browse the questionnaire about parenting here in Taiwan, the options often go like:

你管教孩子的方式是屬於 1. 權威式  2. 民主式  3. 放任不管, etc. 

 

I think if you use 放任自由, it can mean  in 2 ways, one indicating you're permissive, and the other, you don't care what the kids do at all.

[Kev]

You might like to think about 父母课堂 for parenting class.

 

http://www.parenting.com.tw/

talks about xx讲座， or  xx启蒙

 

This might be interesting:

http://ir.lib.nknu.edu.tw/ir/handle/987654321/16384?locale=en-US

高雄市國小高年級學童父母教養方式、情緒智力與生活適應之研究
A Study on the Parent Educating Method, Emotion Intelligence and Life Adjustment of the Fifth and Sixth Grade Elementary School Students in Kaohsiung City.

The English is not very good in the parallel text, but you might get some ideas.

 

I would think twice about 育子課 for "parenting class". With google It only gets 521 hits.