La Manta and La Clinica: Raising children in a Limeno migrant community

Abstract

This dissertation investigates experiences and practices of childrearing in an impoverished community of Andean migrants living in a single neighborhood in Lima, Peru. Research was conducted with families with children under five years old using extended observations and interviews. Parents were found to selectively change their childrearing practices in reaction to their urban cultural surroundings, while keeping many of the beliefs and methods of their natal familial experiences. Key to the decisions parents made were emotions of trust. Varying levels of trust placed in different cultural constructs, social institutions, and personal experiences determined which parenting methods participants emulated. Categories of culturally-determined systems are explored to determine levels of value and trust placed in these systems and this impacts practical parenting decisions among research participants.