This study aimed to investigate mothers and fathers socialization goals about the future of their children. Additionally, it aimed to evaluate a childs gender influence in the goals outlined by the parents and, also, investigate their conceptions about the role they must play for these goals to be accomplished. In this study, 26 couples participated, all residents in João Pessoa city, Paraíba, Brazil. They answered a semi-structured interview about socialization goals. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and later analyzed according to the categories. It was verified that the socialization goals for self-improvement and social expectation categories prevailed in the accounts of the participants, although fathers had more social expectation towards boys. Regarding action strategies, there was a higher number of verbalizations related to self centered strategies. The implications of these findings to child development and family studies are discussed and future research is suggested.
child development; socialization; parents; gender
