Comparing Ghanaian & Japanese Upbringing

 An insanely important aspect of Ghanaian upbringing is respect. Unlike where Amae–which is the mother-child-like bond given to those in the inner circle–is a given in Japanese inner circles. It is only unlocked after respect is established and in Ghana it comes under the condition that you will give the appropriate title of respect to your elders. Elizabeth Ohene states that “it is a sign of bad upbringing to call an elder person without a title, as in calling me Elizabeth without "Auntie", or "Da", or "Madam" or "Miss" or whatever title comes to mind” (Ohene, 2017). When you do use the proper titles that is where Amae comes to play. It's like having to use a code to unlock a safe but you can only use your right hand(because using your left is highly insulting) and curtsy with one leg every time you enter a number with a small smile the whole time. Similar to Japan where there is that benevolence of whoever the dependent relies on is a given, in a Ghanaian household/community there is also that same structure except without the complexities of inner and outer circles the Japanese have. 

The Ghanaian parenting style is mainly communal, and built upon the basis of the quote “it takes a village.” It is considered that in Ghanaian households social parenthood allows for community-based decisions in relation to a child's upbringing (Huang, 2018). And one thing I find similar but different in between the styles of parenting though, is the concept of Uchi-Soto. In Japan the kid is taught to know their place in their group and prioritize the group's decisions over their own, which is completely different from the way I and other Ghanaian kids were raised. There is an emphasis on individualism as a kid(only from ages 0-13 based on my experiences in the Ghanaian communities I've been in), and the interests of the collective are not pushed onto you until you have started your own family even though you are technically raised by your community. But this doesn't mean that they don’t start floating around the idea of joining the collective from when the child is a teenager. 




References: 

Huang, K.-Y., Bornheimer, L. A., Dankyi, E., & de-Graft Aikins, A. (2018, October). Parental Wellbeing, parenting and child development in Ghanaian families with young children. Child psychiatry and human development. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6126985/

Ohene, E. (n.d.). Letter from Africa: Parenting culture clash. BBC News. https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41984444.amp?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17627844460606&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-africa-41984444


Comments

  1. HristiyanNovember 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM

    🔥🔥

    ReplyDelete
  2. HaydenNovember 10, 2025 at 10:18 PM

    It's interesting to hear about Ghanaian parenting styles as I do not know much about them. It seems they share some similarities with Japanese one's as you mentioned. Good post!

    ReplyDelete

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