Exploring Parenting Decisions Among South Korean Mothers with Preschool-Age Children

This descriptive study employed qualitative content analysis to explore the parenting decisions of South Korean mothers with preschool-age children. The parenting decisions of such mothers and the factors influencing them were discussed in two focus group interviews conducted in December 2014 and January 2015. The researchers applied conventional content analysis to the interview transcripts in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Studies. The three major themes identified were "how parenting decisions are made," "barriers to parental decisions," and "mothers' needs in order to make parenting decisions." Participants reported that making parenting decisions was difficult in their daily lives and asserted that South Korea lacked an adequate parenting support system. Given this deficiency, South Korean mothers tended to seek parenting information from people close to them and from the internet, and this information had a primary influence on their parenting decisions. Mothers expressed a need for government policies, recognition of their maternal status, guidance, and training to support their parenting decisions. In this regard, a more comprehensive support system should be provided by the South Korean government to help mothers navigate parenting decisions for their preschool-age children. This system should address all the systems of ecological theory in order to maximize its benefits to South Korean mothers.