Exploring The Impact of Child Rearing Practices on Young Children’s Holistic Development in Chivi District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Child rearing practices have consistently been shown to have an influence on children‟s growth and development. Building on many researches done on how families bring up their children and with reference to Bronfrenbrenner‟s Ecological Theory; the present study explored the impact of child rearing practices on young children‟s holistic development in Chivi District of Zimbabwe. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from a sample of fourteen (14) early childhood development (ECD) parents, three (3) caregivers and thirty-six (36) ECD B children. Results indicated that most children in Chivi District come from nuclear families that are authoritarian, authoritative or neglectful. The data collected also revealed that in Chivi district, raising children in extended families is no longer a common practice as it used to be in the past. A lot of factors were found to contribute to this extended family disintegration. It was also found out that authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles impacted on young children‟s total development as well as caregivers‟ use of both positive and negative techniques in handling children‟s behaviours.