Many Africans today are seeking better futures for their children by opting to give them an education in the United States. Moreover, many prefer giving birth and raising their children on US soil in a bid to secure brighter and better futures for their children and the immediate family as a whole. However, for immigrant African parents, educating their children in the United States can prove to be a daunting task that requires a substantial investment of valuable time, money and physical energy. For parents working long hours and sometimes 2-3 jobs a day, having to raise young children in the United States is another challenging job all on its own.
Even from a black perspective, raising African American children or children of color in the US requires a different cultural and social parenting approach. Denene Millner’s book, My Brown Baby: On the Joys and Challenges of Raising African American Children, outlines thought provoking and raw truths about black parenting in the US. (Denene, 2017) candidly reveals how parents from all races may want their children to have successful lives but they simply do not raise them the same. From how to style your hair to how you relate and fit in your dominant ethnicity, children of color and white children are brought up in different socio-economic and culturally diverse backgrounds. This article draws insights from the book and other writers and covers how African immigrants can navigate education, disciplinary methods, parental duties and pop-culture portrayals while raising their colored children in the US.
Culture, Discipline, and Family Life
Firstly, one of the biggest huddles to address for African immigrant parents and their children is culture. Cultural conflicts for African families living in the US are sometimes weighty and may carry legal consequences. Most of these are done unwittingly by parents and prove costly when the courts take action. There are incidences where African parents in the US take up sticks or brooms to physically discipline their children and much to their surprise; it is considered a felony for abuse of the child by US law. When this happens, African Immigrant families often run the risk of losing their children to child protection services or losing their immigrant status.
Although parenting is very personal, immigrant African parents need to be wary of their actions and how to discipline their kids. They need to understand child protection laws and this information can be gathered from experienced immigrant parents through forums organized here on Afrikagora. Attending events hosted by African American families and African immigrant families is another great way to get information on disciplining your children in the US. Nonetheless, according to (Steinmetz, 2016) there are a number of training programmes organized by the state and African immigrant associations that help new immigrant families to bridge the cultural gaps between parents and their children that usually contradict their norms and beliefs.
In addition, financial circumstances and parent’s marital status greatly affect the wellbeing of children across the United States. A PEW research study in 2014 found out living arrangements among parents also affected their children’s economic standing, wellbeing and school performance. For instance, 31% of children living with single parents live below the poverty line unlike 21% of children with parents living together who live above the poverty line. Across ethnic groups, only 31% of black children live with both parents while 57% of them live in a single-parent household thus greatly contributing to the prevalence of poverty within the black/immigrant African communities (PEW Research centre, 2015).
