Parenting in an uncertain world: African humanitarian migrant resettlement in Victoria, Australia

This chapter discusses the parenting practices of families from the Sub-Saharan region of Africa who arrive in Australia under a humanitarian visa and refugee resettlement program. These families have experienced conflict, wars, and other traumatic events, which have forced them out of their countries of origin. They have also experienced life in refugee camps or other provisional accommodation while awaiting a welcoming host country. These life-changing experiences together constitute how individuals develop their own set of cultural practices informing their child-rearing and parenting practices. The parenting strategies that families develop prior to, and after, displacement will inevitably change again through active participation in the cultural practices of their host country. Considering that in recent years the world has experienced the largest movement of population since World War II, it is essential that we acquire an improved understanding of the ways in which refugees and migrant families develop their repertoires of cultural practices informing their parenting practices in a host country that has vastly different child-rearing practices.