Week 5a- Childhood and Parenting Flashcards
(21 cards)
childhood in historical prospective
controversial, studied since mid ‘60’s. Little evidence, remaining evidence is open for interpretation. Parents have left few written records, having fewer children. EXTREMELY difficult to reconstruct childhood
Historians are TORN over Major Issues such as?
Whether or not parents loved their children, were they viewed as children, how did parents treat their children
Progressive view of the changing family
Phillipe Aries and Lloyd DeMause: negative image in the past (progressive approach)
BUT
Pollock- 400+ journals, childhood not so grim
Emergence of childhood
childhood=modern invention
1500’s- little to no distinction between adults and children portrayed in images. Growing awareness of childhood as a unique state: children aren’t mini-adults, appreciation of children’s distinct needs ( toys, fairs etc) emerged in the 16th and 17th century.
continuity theory
highly critical of DeMause and Aries, continuity of parent/child feelings and behaviour (i.e. grief)
Aries and DeMause
progressive approach to parenting: Negative image in the past. ‘evolution’ of family since 1500’s
Pollock
intensive study of 400+ journals and diaries, found childhood not to be so grim looking. No fundamental ways in which parenting has changed (child rearing same techniques and the ways parents viewed their children)
No new concept of childhood (pollock?)
art- artist are moving to more naturalistic setting
commercialized toys and materialistic world
society is increasingly literate and more verbal in affection
decline in swaddling, because of increased knowledge of human body
theory of harsher punishments
not necessarily done in practice - parents have always been deeply troubled by it)
Child labour as family strategy
children expected to contribute to household economy,opponents of labour laws made distinctions between “good” and “exploitative” labour. Children’s right to work, did recognize some categories of WORK as illegitimate- a dividing line between abuse and ordinary task suited for children, as dispute continued, the relationship of children to work was increasingly examined and reappraised opponents of legislation around children’s labour insisted
Zeilzer: pricing the priceless child
changing social values of children
transformation in social value of children, Death of a child insurance only covered child’s expected labour, 1930- parent’s compensated for “emotional pain”. By mid 1900’s sentimental value of small children- in 1950 parents pay $10,000 for an infant on the black market in 1990’s they pay even more for surrogacy
Emotionally priceless child
children are no longer expected to be useful. Chores=education. children are no longer viewed as evil creatures,Precious, need nurturing, “Sentimentalization” of childhood
Parenting
changes in childhood= changes in parenting
Child rearing
socially constructed, methods of child rearing can vary Enormously, philosophies behind child rearing in N.A. have changed. parenting practices among middle-class families have Intensified
Julia Wrigley
content analysis of 1,000+ articles between 1900-1985. Parents hope to transmit social class advantages through to their children, now to do this must sponsor/ foster child’s intellectual development
Julia Wrigley- children’s cognitive development
historically little effort to ensure academic success. Early 1900’s, emphasis on hygiene: survival of babies, fresh air, baby management; raising baby= risk. Don’t play with babies, feed and clean on a schedule.
Julia Wrigley- Advice to parents (1960)
interest in children’s intellectual stimulation, take good health for granted, no longer passive; molded to parents schedule. Better babies, babies= more rights therefore parents have more obligations.
From moral to emotional, congnitive
focus on child’s moral character replaced by focus on scientific categories of emotional, behavioral and cognitive behavior. Permissive era= natural development of child, fulfillment of a child’s desires now ends in themselves, children train parents
The nag factor
Dr. Ernest Ditcher: pioneer of “motivational research” (persuasion technique) through advertisements directed at children
Changes in spending time
the busier the parents today, the more time parents are spending one on one with their children whether it be playing or studying with them
Hays (1996) Intensive Mothering/ parenting
modern ideology of child rearing: children; innocent and priceless. child rearing only carried out by moms, centered around child’s needs, methods informed by experts, labor-intensive and financially costly
