Empowering newcomer parents: A qualitative study on children’s perspective regarding their parent’s participation to It’s My Child

Abstract

Newcomer status for a family who just migrated to or seeks refuge in a new country comes with many challenges. One of these challenges is the shift in parent-child dynamics with parents often lacking the knowledge of the systems in the new context. A relatively recent organization, It’s My Child (IMC), aims to empower newcomer parents who experience this shift. Current study intended to find out whether children of newcomer families noticed any (positive) developments when their parents joined IMC. This study addresses the following question: How do children experience their parent’s participation to IMC? A qualitative research was conducted with eight participants with different national backgrounds. They all participated in an individual online semi-structured interview. Results indicated participants have a positive opinion about IMC. They mention several positive experiences, these differ per participant, and mostly concerned improvements in the life of their parents, for example building a social network and become more independent. Strengths of the study include the difficult target group that was reached, as it is scientifically and practically relevant. Limitations were the age group, language barrier and social desirably responding.