Parenting, family functioning and lifestyle in a new culture: the case of African migrants in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia André M. N. Renzaho*, Julie Green†, David Mellor‡ and Boyd Swinburn* *Senior Research Fellow, Alfred Deakin Professor and Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, †Deputy Director and Head of Research, Royal Children Hospital Education Institute, Department of Paediatrics and Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, and ‡Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia ABSTRACT This study documented the parenting styles among African migrants now living in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and assessed how inter- generational issues related to parenting in a new culture impact on family functioning and the modification of lifestyles. A total of 10 focus group discussions (five with parents and five with 13–17-year- old children; N = 85 participants) of 1.5–2 hours duration were conducted with Sudanese, Somali and Ethiopian migrant families. The analysis identified three discrete themes: (i) parenting-related issues; (ii) family functioning and family relations; and (iii) lifestyle changes and health. African migrant parents were restrictive in their parent- ing; controlled children’s behaviours and social development through strict boundary-setting and close monitoring of interests, activities, and friends; and adopted a hierarchical approach to decision-making while discouraging autonomy among their offspring. Programmes seeking to improve the health and welfare of African migrants in their host countries need to accommodate the cultural and social dimen- sions that shape their lives. Such programmes may need to be so broad as to apply an acculturation lens to planning, and to assist young people, parents and families in addressing intergenerational issues related to raising children and growing up in a different social and cultural milieu. Correspondence: André M.N. Renzaho, WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention, Deakin Population Health Strategic Research Centre, Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood High Way, Burwood 3125, Victoria, Australia E-mail: renzaho@deakin.edu.au Keywords: African migrants, family functioning, intergenerational acculturation, lifestyle changes, parenting Accepted for publication: September 2010 BACKGROUND The number of refugees and humanitarian entrants to Australia from Africa has significantly increased in the past decade, with the proportion of resettlement from the African region increasing from around 16% in 1998/99 to a peak of 70% between 2003/05 (Department of Immigration and Citizenship 2009). On arrival in their host country, African migrant families experience a number of stressful events. Parenting in the new culture brings with it many challenges simply because family values differ across cultures, and traditional parenting practices used in the home country to achieve culturally sanctioned goals may not be the norm in the host country. The situation becomes exacerbated when these culturally sanctioned goals and values are endorsed to different degrees by parents and their offspring. As an example, for migrants from countries in Asia, the Middle East or Africa, parenting is couched within the context of what culturally constitutes a ‘family’, and a family encompasses grandparents, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00736.x 228 Child and Family Social Work 2011, 16, pp 228–240 © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd