Parenting Practices in Hearing Mothers with Deaf Children Who Use Colombian Sign Language

Abstract

Objective: to describe the parenting practices of hearing parents who have Deaf children through the narrative of two hearing mothers without communicational competence in Colombian Sign Language. Methodology: phenomenological research of descriptive scope. The technique used to collect the narratives was the application of a semi-structured interview with the mothers of the Deaf people, the data analysis was carried out by means of a handmade categorical matrix where the mothers' discourse was systematized in the different categories (affective support, behavior regulation, family relationships, communication). Results: the parenting practices exercised from the mothers' narratives were mediated by affective support, manifested through strategies such as play and caresses, regulation of behavior oriented by strategies such as reinforcement-punishment, family relationships oriented to favor spaces of integration in the family environment, spaces that were not perceived as favorable actions for the development of personal security and trust in their children. In this communication, nonverbal strategies emerged (signs or nonverbal language) which were adjusted according to the hearing capacity of the child. Conclusions: the parenting practices reported by the mothers are not very far from the actions normally exercised by parents of hearing children, since their practices are mediated by filial love, salutary bonding, creativity, recursion and accompaniment. Nevertheless, the importance of learning Sign Language as a mother tongue for the conscious and reasoned formation of children, for the adequate recognition of their Deaf culture and for their appropriate social inclusion is highlighted.