Child well-being :|the perspectives of children and their mothers

Abstract

The primary aim of this study is to listen to children's conceptualizations of their well-being and to explore the commonalities and differences of subjective themes that they revealed. Secondly, this study investigates the wishes and expectations of the mothers from their children to understand how children are positioned in their minds and how they define well-being for their children in relation their own identities and experiences. 15 mother and children pairs from three different socioeconomic groups were interviewed for these goals. Predetermined themes of the previous studies of child well-being were not asked directly in this study. Instead, children were interviewed with much less guidance. The method was to ask for “who what where” makes children feel good, has importance for them, and gives pleasure. Interviews continued according to the content participants brought. Children were motivated to enrich their expressions by drawing optionally. Mothers were asked separately what they prioritize for their children, what kind of gains they aim in their lives, and what was carried to their motherhood from their own childhood. Results showed that children of 10-12 ages have well-being experiences, significantly shaped by their relational space. Moreover, their relationality is impacted by maternal relational skills and experiences through the efforts mothers chose to invest during child rearing. Findings were discussed to show how the subjective standpoint of children has been developed in the axis of the transmission of maternal relational structure in the understanding of children’s well-being.