It was necessary to develop this new approach because Black children and their families are not adequately understood or supported by child welfare professionals in multiracial countries that have minority Black populations. Structural factors such as racism and poverty impact significantly on Black families. But previous parenting styles did not situate these factors in Black families’ experiences, which means that core parts of the challenges in parenting Black children are ignored. RP includes these challenges and drew on how parents navigate those in developing the model.

Requisite parenting style has been successfully evaluated in a research funded by Barnardo’s Children’s Charity through their SEEN initiative, which exists to improve outcomes for children and young people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage. The evaluation, which was published in January 2024, shows Requisite Parenting properly aligns with what participants who were Black children, parents and professionals understand to be an optimal Black parenting style.

Requisite Parenting is based on three dimensions of parenting, while the most widely used parenting styles are based on two dimensions. It groups positive Black parenting into six principles, each one representing an essential attribute for raising Black children from pre-adolescent stage onwards.