Enriching intimacy: the role of the emotional in the ‘resourcing’ of middle‐class children

Abstract

This paper analyses qualitative interviews conducted with Norwegian middle‐class parents. It explores how a particular type of intimacy – an enriching intimacy – is produced as part of everyday parent–child interactions and considers the notion of the social self that spurs middle‐class parents to seek this very type of intimacy with their child. By so doing it adds to the growing field of research on middle‐class parents' child‐rearing strategies and the role these strategies play in the 'resourcing' of middle‐class children. The relevance of the dimension of intimacy for studies on the parental effect on children's school achievement is discussed.