Nov 12 - Expanding Families Flashcards
myth of motherhood
the idealization of motherhood as natural instinct that fulfills a woman, the ideal is having a child of each sex, women as deficient if they don`t have kids, women in their 30s and 40s hear their “biological clock” ticking
What are some of the medical reasons that Canadian families are shrinking?
- infant mortality has declined since 1960s, it is no longer necessary to have large number of children to ensure the survival of two or three
- contraception has become more convenient and effective, birth control pill first became available in 1961
What are some of the legal reasons that Canadian families are shrinking?
- until 1969, contraception and abortion were illegal, birth rate dropped sharply with legalization of birth control
- 1988: Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion, makes it possible to avoid having children after birth control fails
- sterilization, among married couples where wife is over 35, nearly two-thirds are protected by sterilization
What are some of the economic reasons that Canadian families are shrinking?
- shift from resource-based to a manufacturing-based economy, need less children to work the family business or farm
- birth rate is connected to national and global economics, ex. evidence that abortions and sterilizations increase during hard times
- womens’ participation in the workforce, in late 20th century the birth rate has dropped in industrialized countries
- raising children is very expensive, ex. lost career opportunities, standards as to ‘providing for them well’ have changed
role incompatibility hypothesis
an inverse relationship occurs between women’s work and fertility when the roles of worker and mother conflict,a negative relationship between female employment and fertility exists to the extent that they are competing uses of time, this is because of the strain of performing the roles of both employee and mother
How has women’s participation in the workforce lead to a lower birth rate?
- role incompatibility hypothesis
- education is more important for employment than in past so many women postpone child-bearing until out of school and financially stable
How much did it cost to raise a child to age 18 in 2004? What percent of their incomes do families in Quebec and Ontario spend on their first children?
- raising a child to age 18 cost nearly $167 000 in 2004
- including housing and daycare, families spend from 10% (Quebec) to 15% (Ontario) of their income on the first child
-value of children (VOC) framework;
a classification scheme that includes three satisfactions (or values) of children:
1. instrumental assistance (help in old age) 2. rewarding interactions (companionship, love) 3. psychological appreciation (living through children) - also includes costs: - financial costs (the cost of education) - child-rearing demands (emotional strain and pregnancy) - restrictions on parents (being tied down) - costs to social relationships (marital strain)
What are some of the psychosocial reasons that Canadian families are shrinking?
- some women don’t want to sacrifice career to which they are dedicated
- some people don’t have a partner with whom they want to have children
- people have changing perspectives on the value to children
What are some different approaches to increasing the birth rate?
- family allowance program
- theorists suggest that increases in fertility depend on providing conditions to increase young people’s confidence in their future
- encouraging immigration of young people who are of childbearing age will stimulate a sagging birth rate
family allowance program
in Canada began in 1945, gave benefits for children under 16, ex. baby bonus
What are the 4 options for unwanted pregnancies?
- abortion; medical termination of a pregnancy, aka feticide
- adoption; the legal transfer of parental rights, obligations to adoptive parents
- fostering; the provision of care by a family, other than a parent or guardian of a child, approved and arranged by a child welfare authority
- keep child
Has the rate of abortions gone up or down in recent years?
number of abortions has decreased in recent years, down by 35% from 1997-2010
open adoption
biological & adoptive parents know each other and exchange information
aboriginal custom adoption
privately arranged adoption between two families within the Aboriginal community, to try to preserve cultural heritage
