Aim: The aim of this study was to explore care leavers’ experiences of parenting. Although research has previously been carried out on this area, there is a lack of research on mature care leavers’ experiences of parenthood which this study attempts to address. It was hoped that this research might further illuminate our understanding of care leavers as parents, and highlight potential areas of clinical need and ways in which these could be addressed therapeutically. Method: This study employed a qualitative design through the use of semi-structured interviews with six care leavers who were mothers; the majority of whom were in their late 30’s to early 40’s. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to develop a rich and multi-layered account of participants’ experiences. Results: Four main themes emerged across participants’ accounts. These were: ‘Fear of the past and its impact on the future’, ‘Trying to do better’, ‘Parenting is hard but rewarding’ and ‘Connecting and disconnecting: the push and pull.’ Implications: The study highlights the importance of holding the complexity of care leavers’ experiences as parents in mind; acknowledging both their strengths and struggles. Participants’ sense-making of their parenting in relation to their pasts as well as their resources and the processes surrounding learning to parent, were discussed in light of the themes that arose and previous theoretical and research literature. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

The purpose of this study was twofold: firstly to explore the parenting experiences of lesbian parents rearing children and secondly with a specific focus on parenting styles that may be present within lesbian families. The conceptual framework for this study was the ecosystemic model of Urie Bronfenbrenner. During the research I followed a qualitative approach, secured in an interpretative paradigm. A case study research design was utilised to gain a better, richer and deeper understanding. Data collection involved using semi structured questionnaires, parenting style worksheets and vignettes. Participant selection was a combination between snowball and non-probability sampling methods, including four lesbian families with children between the ages of four and twelve years. Data analysis consisted of identifying themes and subthemes. Several main themes emerged subsequent to the thematic data analysis. The first theme was the parenting styles within lesbian families namely; warm, involved and tolerant parenting style as the main styles. The second theme was family rules, values and norms. The third theme was discipline strategies that were used within the lesbian families. The fourth theme was the experiences and lastly a theme on how the participants saw themselves with regards to sameness or being different than other families was identified. Based on the findings I concluded that there are three main parenting styles that emerged within these lesbian families and that there are several experiences, both positive and negative, that have influences on how lesbian mothers rear their children. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted