Differences

As expected, there are many differences between our lives and perspectives and our parents’. For example, my parents were raised in slum-like villages in India and had to work to feed themselves throughout their childhood. They did not know comfort or stability and did not envision pursuing their dreams. If they wanted to become educated and make it out of their current situation, they had to do it completely on their own. On the contrary, my brothers and I were raised with economic comfort and complete support from our parents. Because of this, we have access to many more opportunities and resources than our parents ever did. We have the luxury of only focusing on our careers and pursuing our dreams because our parents support us fully.

Parenting Styles

When considering what kind of parenting style my parents undertake, I refer to Laura T. Hamilton’s definitions in her book Parenting to a Degree. While my parents support us fully, like helicopter parents, they allow us the space to grow as individuals with their support when needed, like paramedic parents. Therefore, I would describe my parents as paramedic helicopters, a unique blend of the two styles that many immigrant parents undertake. As I get older, I plan on being a fully paramedic parent in order to teach my children financial responsibility. This perspective is of course subject to change when (and if) I actually have my own children.

Dating

Furthermore, being raised in America means that our dating field is much more diverse than it was for our parents. Not only did my parents want to marry someone from the same country, but they wanted to be sure their partner would be the same religion and speak the same language. Due to the vast amount of dialects and cultures that exist in India, their standards meant they could only search for a partner in one particular state. Because my brothers and I are able to pursue relationships with women and men of completely different backgrounds, we have many more options when it comes to partner searches. As referenced in lecture and Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance, our generation has many more options for meeting potential spouses because of the development of technology and dating apps. This difference will be discussed further on the next page!

Parental Investment

The last part of my parents’ response relates to the “Rug Rat Race” idea proposed by Ramey and Ramey, which attributes the rise in time spent on child care to increase college entrance competitiveness. Furthermore, Annette Lareau proposed the ideas of concerted cultivation and accomplishment of natural growth. When perusing the definitions of each of these childhood paths, it is clear to me that my parents emphasized concerted cultivation, while their parents emphasized accomplishment of natural growth. The primary reason for this difference is simply financial burdens and time available to commit to child care. My grandparents were extremely financially unstable and therefore had much less time to spend on child care.