In this study, we aimed to examine whether and how parental self-esteem and parent–child relationships interact and associate with the authoritative parenting of Chinese rural-to-urban migrant mothers and fathers of left-behind children. Results from a cross-sectional survey of 295 Chinese migrant parents living in Shenzhen revealed no statistically significant differences between migrant mothers and fathers in parental self-esteem, parent–child relationships, and authoritative parenting. Both parental self-esteem and parent-child relationships had positive associations with authoritative parenting among two groups of respondents; however, the perceived parent–child relationship quality was a more important predictor than parental self-esteem. There was also an interaction effect between parental self-esteem and parent–child relationships on migrant mothers’ authoritative parenting. The findings indicate that migrant parents’ perception of their encounters with their children has a profound influence on their parenting behaviors. Social services should, thus, be provided to strengthen both virtual and face-to-face parent–child interactions via mobile phone parenting and periodic visits. New policies should be developed to provide migrant parents with more options regarding family reunion. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

China Migrant parents Left-behind children parent–child relationship Parenting

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