Chapter 13 Raising Children Parenting It s Not the Same Everywhere economic conditions region of a country cultural and religious traditions gendered norms job opportunities and level of technology are some macro level factors for certain family interactions o ex places with low birth control accessibility will have more child births African families often have 6 children because of this parenting in the U S women usually give birth in hospitals babies sleep in cribs many are fed from bottles strollers are used and 28 of women return to work within 3 months of childbirth 7 in England parenting in Africa children are carried close to the woman at all times sleep with the woman and fed breast milk family allowance child allowance a cash benefit to families provided by the government to help offset the costs of raising children Parenting of Colonial America Parenting of Today tended to be strict emotionally distant expected unqualified obedience from their children resulted in of high infant and child mortality rates thought to be born with original sin and therefore needed strong discipline and severe religious training to stop it from continuing excessive tenderness was thought to spoil the children treated as miniature adults worked to support the family more nurturing emotionally close strictness levels vary among families children don t usually work until they are 16 or older love and affection is deemed necessary there are differences in parenting styles within race ethnicity social class sex and religious orientation ex Quaker families tended to be more emotionally attached to their children opposed to Puritans ex wealthy families are more indulgent to their children than poorer families ex in some cultures boys are seen as superior to girls industrialization urbanization and immigration in the 19th century led to a change in the family dynamic ex families moved from farms to cities in search of jobs most families needed their children to earn a wage in factories and other growing industries ex record numbers of immigrants came to America in hope for a better life During the Progressive Era people became worried about the exploitation of children Social reformers worked to create child labor laws as well as general labor laws for all workers Because of this the period of adolescence was created there are three trends that exist in varying degrees in both industrial and non industrial societies today 1 although parents are central to childrearing other people and social institutions are becoming increasingly involved in raising children Ex grandparents daycares governmental agencies school factories etc 2 parents around the world increasingly encourage permissiveness and child independence there is a decline on the value placed on obedience to parental authority and more emphasis on independence 3 in most societies around the world a higher value is placed on boys rather than girls ex Kenya China and India o o o o o o o o o Socialization Learning to Be Human socialization the lifelong process by which we acquire the cultural values and skills needed to function as human beings and participate in society Theoretical approaches to how children develop o Sigmund Freud proposed that human behavior and personality originate from unconscious forces within individuals the id ego and superego Id the part of the personality that includes biological drives and needs to immediate gratification present at birth and continues throughout our lives Ego the rational component of the personality that attempts to balance the need for immediate gratifications with the demands of society arises as we become aware that we can t have everything we want Superego our conscious which draws upon our cultural values and norms to help us understand why we can t have everything we want o Jean Piaget focused research on how people think and understand Four stages of cognitive development Sensorimotor stage from birth to age 2 infants and toddler understand the world primarily through touch sucking listening and looking Preoperational thought from 2 to 7 child learns language symbolic play and symbolic drawing but does not grasp abstract concepts Concrete operational thought from 7 to 12 when children begin to see the casual connections in their surroundings and can manipulate categories classification systems and hierarchies in groups Formal operational thought from adolescence through adulthood children develop capacities for abstract thought and can conceptualize more complex issues or rules that can be used for problem solving o Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead said that the individual can t form a self concept without social contact with others rejected Freud and Piaget Looking glass self we come to see ourselves as others perceive and respond to us Role taking the process of mentally assuming the role of another person to understand the world from their point of view and to anticipate their response to us helps us to become self reflective Suggests that the self is divided into two elements both are needed to form the social self the feedback loop is critical I subjective element of the self and represents spontaneity and interaction that we initiate Me objective element of self that reflects the internalized perceptions of others towards us The social learning theory the theory that behavior is learned through modeling and reinforcement children learn from watching and imitating others Bobo doll studies child observed an adult acting violently during a doll and then acted the same way when left in a room alone with it o Alfred Bandura Agents of Socialization Agent Description Family members specifically parents Schools and daycare Have the greatest impact on socializing children because they provide the first exposure to culture Provide children with food a home clothes and vocabulary Enlarge a child s world by introducing them to people and settings different from those of their immediate families Organize and teach children a wider range of knowledge skills and customs including the political side of society Peer groups Relationships without the direct supervision of family Toys and games The mass media Socialization and Social Class members or adults Peers reward conformity rather than deviation Reflect our culture and teach children important messages about what it means to be an important member of society Show what it means to be a boy or girl Television internet etc are
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