Readiness parenting: practices of care by parents of children with chronic kidney disease in Portugal

Abstract

Parents of a child with chronic kidney disease (CKD) must safely perform advanced care and treatment while at the same time allowing the child some freedom and maintaining everyday parenting and family tasks. Drawing on interviews with primary caregivers of children with CKD in Portugal, we examine the context of raising a child with CKD and how the parents practise their parenthood. The study takes inspiration from parenting studies and child studies and explores how good parenthood is constructed. Based on thematic analysis, three core themes emerged: protecting the child, involving the child in their treatment, and transferring responsibility. The transformation of life-limiting circumstances into a life that worked well for both parents and their child represents what we call ‘readiness parenting’. Assessing risks, supporting the child’s autonomy, and relating to social norms required constant vigilance and readjustments as well as negotiations about parental responsibility.