Among couples, the tendency to have only one child has increased over time, which puts a new educational path in front of them. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the upbringing challenges of only-child in infant ages from the perspective of mothers. The research method in this study is qualitative and has been done by the Grounded theory method with Glaser approach. The research population was mothers with one child (3-6 years old) which were selected from qualified clients in 1401 through targeted sampling and available methods. Data collection was finished in the twelfth interview. Semi-structured interviews were used to extract experience-based perspectives. Data analysis was based on open, axial and theoretical coding methods. The results of interview coding analysis led to the identification of 29 open codes, 7 axial codes and 2 theoretical codes.
According to the obtained results, the theoretical codes identified in this regard include these two propositions: “the role of only-child in the formation of upbringing challenges affecting childhood and affected by upbringing harm” and “the role of only-child in the formation of upbringing harms of only-child Infancy, influential and affected by upbringing challenges”. Upbringing challenges include the challenges of moral, social, emotional, cognitive and developmental upbring, as well as upbringing harms include dysfunctional parenting styles and communication space, which these two categories are influential and affect each other.
Keywords: upbringing Challenges, only-child, lived experiences of mothers, infant ages.