In the article, parenthood as a social phenomenon, its significance in the system of life orientations of Russians are under study. A number of circumstances are formulated that determine the need for a social and philosophical analysis of parenthood as a social phenomenon. In modern Russia, family is experiencing an acute crisis, the social ties between parents and children weaken, the importance of kinship and parenthood is diminishing; today small families become the norm of life. The situation is aggravated by the low level of pedagogical culture of many parents. We consider the sociological trend in the study of parenthood, according to which the attitude to it depends on the concepts of this phenomenon in each particular culture, the causes of its present crisis should be sought in the social mechanisms of the process of parenthood formation in modern Russian society. As a result of the study, five main models of parenthood were identified: parenthood, preserving the remains of tradition, “split” parenthood, deviant parenthood, “individualistic” and creative parenthood. Traditional parenthood is characteristic of 56% of the respondents. Parents in such families aspire to give birth to two, rarely three children. Split parenthood emerges from destruction of the family or the original lonely motherhood (less often – paternity). The loss of a father or a mother or the lack of coherence in the upbringing of children leads to painful shifts in the child’s psyche. The deviant model includes families in which parents have low social status, lead an immoral, and sometimes illegal, way of life, children grow without supervision. Individualistic model of parenthood can manifest itself in two directions: in partner relationships between parents and children or in authoritarian upbringing. Traditional parenthood is characteristic of 16% of the respondents. It assumes not only a conscious attitude of parents towards their duties, emotional readiness to accept the child and parental responsibility, but also a support in developing a spiritually healthy family in the tradition of values of the national culture (Christian, in this study). This model is characterized by an unconditional desire for two or three children. If the models of split, individualistic and deviant parenthood become characteristic of 70-80% of our fellow citizens, then Russia will gradually dissolve in the global world, losing its culture and national identity.

parenting, the crisis of parenting, philosophical and cultural causes of demographic decrease, social and cultural models of parenting, valuable attitude towards parenting, future of Russian family

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