There is a view that children are basically ‘little savages’, and socializing them means forcing them to accept the culture’s ways of behaving. This view is often found with a belief that firm discipline is needed, with good doses of punishment, to curb children’s natural tendencies to wildness. The saying ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ is a salutary reminder that this attitude was prevalent in Britain not so very long ago. The expectation here is that child-rearing is necessarily a process of conflict and centred on issues of control.

A contrasting view, which nevertheless still retains the basic idea of the ‘wild’ nature of children, is that of the ‘noble savage’. This view tends to stress the innocence of children and sees socialization as to some extent brutalizing the child into the tough realities of human life. In this frame, it is common to find ideas about protecting children from aspects of the adult world – ‘let them stay innocent as long as possible’. Here, the dominant belief is in the role of parent as guardian and defender of the child’s interests.

Yet another perspective sees the child as a ‘blank slate’ at birth, and that parents’ rewards and punishment shape the child, like moulding lump of clay, into whatever form the parents desire. This sees the child as passive in the socializing process, with the parents’ role being that of trainers. The parent, in this model ‘knows what is best’ for the child and the child is a compliant recipient. Although it lacks the emphasis on conflict, this view has some similiarities with the ‘wild child’ view that, without parental guidance, children are not naturally social.

A set of beliefs about child-rearing that assume that children are naturally social come together in what has been called ‘laissez-faire’ parenting, where children are basically given free rein to ‘develop their own potential’. In Britain, these ideas also found expression in the middle of the last century in new forms of education, such as ‘free schooling’, with children being given freedom to pick and choose what, when and where they studied. In this view, the parental role is seen as a facilitator of the child’s autonomy and development.

Another form of child-rearing is more ‘democratic’ and recognises the shared interests of parent and child in socialization. The parent is viewed as more knowledgeable and experienced, hence able to be ‘authoritative’ about what it is to be a member of society, but at the same time, the child’s views are also respected. In this view, negotiation is the key process, with children seen as active participants in their own development.

It should not be forgotten that many parents’ views are closely linked with their religious beliefs. For example, if the parent's believe in the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation, the child will be viewed as having had previous lives, that are reflected in the child’s personality; the parents’ role will be to help the child to move towards a ‘better’ way of living that increases their karma.