Child-rearing is the way in which children are raised in a society. No matter their culture, parents play a significant role in helping their child become a respectable and contributing member of society. Parents accomplish this by nurturing their child, building problem-solving skills, and modeling culturally acceptable ways of living. All cultures vary on what cultural style the correct way to raise a child, but all share similar ground ideals. These ideals include the importance of education and teaching honesty, responsibility, and communication. The major factor of child-rearing is parenting.

The parents alone decided how to raise the child, what the cultural norms are, what pressures to put on the child, and how they want to be when they grow up. For example, in China, toddles are selected by state-run sports schools. The parents of these children can decide to send their one and only child off to these sports training boarding schools, where they undergo years of grueling training. But to these parents, this is the best way to raise their child because they have a slim chance of bringing honor to their family and to China and can have more opportunities for a successful career.

there are many contributing factors that have an impact on what methods or styles of child-rearing used which can include: parental intuition and attitudes, beliefs, learned parenting skills, race, culture, social class, and wealth. The values and norms of society at the time also have an effect.
Children learn by copying behaviour, known as modelling. As children are exposed to behaviours the more this becomes normal and the more likely they are to display the same behavioural characteristics. This works for both positive and negative behaviour traits. For example, mothers who had an eating disorder during the first year of life displayed more negative emotions towards the child during meal times and were more intrusive during eating and play.

When trying to teach good behavior to a child it is helpful for the parents to apply the same rules to themselves and not attempt to apply different rules as this may teach the child that there are separate sets of rules for separate people rather than all acting the same way.
When mistakes do happen and parents model inappropriate behavior, acknowledging it and explaining why it is wrong is equally important for the benefits to be realized.
Over the years there have been many different styles of parenting. However, there is no single or definitive model that can be right and applied to all.

There are many differing theories and opinions on the best ways to rear children, as well as differing levels of time and effort that parents are willing to invest. There are also cultural and traditional impacts on the method used. Many parents create their own style from a combination of factors which can evolve over time as the child develops.