In an action research project to develop an empowering mode of parent education in Hong Kong that is premised on the empowerment discourse and a social constructionist epistemology, a pilot design was developed through a series of four ‘reflective seminars’ that engaged parents and professionals in a process of participatory inquiry, and three parent groups with Chinese parents. Afterward, two focused group interviews and six individual interviews were conducted to tap participants' narratives of their learning experience. Although parent empowerment has been widely advocated in parenting work, the authority of expert knowledge as perceived by participants and the power imbalance between parent educators and parents posed a new ‘empowerment paradox’ in our attempt to practice a new empowering mode of parent education for local parents. Addressing this ‘empowerment paradox’ requires a paradigm shift from the education model to reflexive practice. Parent educators need to be sensitive to social, cultural, discursive and institutional forces in order to negotiate a power relation that is characterised by collaboration and partnership, but is also responsive to parents’ pedagogical expectation in the Chinese cultural context.