Contradictions, Conflicts and Helplessness: Contemporary Chinese Mothers' Parenting Experiences—A Qualitative Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Grounded in the context of rapid social transition, this study investigates Chinese maternal parenting experiences through an analysis of concrete parenting practices. Drawing on one‐on‐one in‐depth interviews with 14 Chinese mothers of middle school students and subsequent coding analysis, the findings reveal that mothers' experiences are characterized by significant contradictions, conflicts and a pervasive sense of helplessness. Specifically, regarding parenting beliefs, mothers aspire for their children to achieve both ‘chengren’ (be mature) and ‘chengcai’ (be successful); however, constraints on time and energy render the simultaneous pursuit of these dual goals increasingly difficult. In terms of parenting behaviours, mothers navigate between emerging parenting concepts and traditional child‐rearing beliefs, often resulting in behavioural inconsistencies. Consequently, the tension between contradictory Chinese parenting beliefs and inconsistent behaviours engenders a profound sense of helplessness regarding their parenting efficacy. Based on these findings, the study advocates for a multidimensional intervention framework across the social ecology that integrates micro‐level resilience building, meso‐level promotion of cooperative parenting and macro‐level policy reforms to dismantle the structural constraints of intensive mothering in contemporary China.