A Comparison of Korean Traditional Child-rearing Practices between Generations of Young Mothers and Grandmothers

일 지역 어머니 세대와 할머니 세대의 전통 육아방식 비교

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in Korean child-rearing practices between the generations of young mothers and grandmothers. Method: The participants were 98 mothers who were 20 to 39 years old and had raised one-year-old child and 103 grandmothers who were over 60 years old and had raised their children in a small city. Data were collected through self-report questionnaire based on the Korean traditional child-rearing practice from Yoo(1986). The data were analyzed using the SPSS Win 10.0 program. Results: Of 37 items in the categories of feeding and weaning, health management and taboo matters, play, and baby celebrations, the grandmothers practiced 13 items (35%) more frequently than the young mothers. However, no generation differences were found in 21 items (57%), and 3 items were practiced more frequently by the young mothers. For the young mothers, there were 15 items (41%) which were practiced over 70%, 7 items (19%) which were practiced less than 30%. Conclusion: It seems that some Korean traditional child-rearing practices were transferred to modern child-rearing practices. Therefore pediatric nurses need to pay attention to traditional child-rearing practices for the best health, growth and development of children.