Parental responsibilities, social policy and the maintenance of boundaries

This article explores the theoretical, empirical and policy driven links between the idea of parental responsibility and the practice of boundary setting within the home. Two forms of boundary setting are initially described: first, parents’ attempts to draw boundaries between themselves and ‘external’ sources of child support such as the school and the social services; second, parents’ attempts to assert a clear hierarchical difference between themselves and their children. The article starts by assessing the extent to which boundaries are strengthened by recent education reform; and goes on to argue that a series of political and cultural demands on parents limit the success of any consistent boundary maintenance strategies adopted by parents. It finishes by reviewing the gendered nature of boundary setting within the home.