This book provides an account of parenting support initiatives in children and family services from around the world, paying particular attention to their impact on both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ outcomes for participants, and to the inclusion of parents in the design and delivery of these supports. By focusing on parents who are experiencing challenges outside of the normal day-to-day task of parenting and in receipt of formal support services, their perspectives on the experience of receiving these supports, and the difference experienced by children and family members are analysed. Conceptually driven and reflecting the individual theories and frameworks that underpinned the parenting supports, the participatory processes and the research undertaken, this book includes case studies from Australia, Bulgaria, England, Italy, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia and Spain. By highlighting the theoretical, conceptual, and practical considerations required when supporting parents in an inclusive manner, it will be of interest to all scholars, students and practitioners working in the following areas: social work and social care, child development, child protection and social policy.

What does mothering mean in different cultures and societies? This book extensively applies biographical and narrative research methods to mothering from international perspectives. This edited collection engages with changing attitudes and approaches to mothering from women’s individual biographical experiences, illuminating how socially anticipated tasks of mothering shaped through interlinking state, media, religious beliefs and broader society are reflected in their identities and individual life choices. Considering trust, rapport, reflexivity and self-care, this collection advances methodological practice in the study of mothers, carers and childless women’s lives.