Pastoral nomadic parents’ beliefs and practices about child safety: an ethnographic study

Abstract

Although there are many findings about settled parents’ beliefs and practices regarding child safety, little is known about those of nomadic parents. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the child safety beliefs and practice of pastoral nomadic parents. Participants consisted of eight parents who lived as nomads on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The data were gathered through observations and interviews from parents. Additionally, research’s diary and ethnographic photography were used as data collection tools. The findings indicated that nomadic parents considered their camping area and its surroundings as safe for children, while they evaluated the places that were close to settled life and had traffic as insecure areas. Moreover, depending on the physical conditions of the context that they live in, nomadic parents had developed several strategies and had took measures to ensure the safety of their children, especially in care practices such as resting, sheltering and feeding.