Abstract:

There is an inherent tension between modern child protection system and familism cultural tradition in China, which has an important impact on the concrete practice of child protection system in the grassroots society. Through the field investigation of the rural child protection work in 14 counties of 7 provinces such as Anhui and Hubei, it discovers that modern child protection system is regulated by the culture of familism while intervening in families and protecting children. Families will use traditional parenting norms to justify their “improper” parenting behaviors and unconsciously resist the implementation of modern child protection system. In the interaction with familism and public view of parenting, modern child protection norms have reshaped the autonomy of family and child protection system itself. When modern child protection system is transferred into China, the tradition and reality of local social culture should be considered, and the emphasis should be placed on family supervision and family support.

Key words: child protection, guardianship intervention, cultural politics, familism