Sociology of Families (SOCI 371) Lecture Notes PDF

SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES (SOCI 371) DR. GBENGA ADEJARE Parenthood and Childhood Parenthood: the state of being a parent and all the social, psychological, emotional, physical, and economic implications that come with it. Childhood: the state of being a child, it falls in the inevitable stage...

SOCIOLOGY OF FAMILIES (SOCI 371) DR. GBENGA ADEJARE Parenthood and Childhood Parenthood: the state of being a parent and all the social, psychological, emotional, physical, and economic implications that come with it. Childhood: the state of being a child, it falls in the inevitable stage between infancy and adolescence. It extends from one or two years of age until the onset of adolescence at age 12 or 13. The early years of childhood are marked by enormous strides in the understanding and use of language. Parenthood and childhood are intertwined: parenting involves the responsibility of child-raising/rearing. Parenthood and Childhood cont’d The transition to parenthood opens up a whole new world of experiences for families that are potentially both joyful and stressful Research suggests that the expectations facing parents both at home and in the workplace are rising Many family scholars have characterized contemporary parenting, as ‘intensive parenting’ and ‘concerted’ Gender debates on parenting and childhood are expanding Nature Vs Nature Debate John Locke (1689) leads the nurture proposition on how human beings develop: Humans are born in a state of tabula rasa (blank slate) Ideas and language are acquired from the already existing world Derived from the work of Charles Darwin’s thesis on evolution, the nature proponents believe in: Genetic explanation of growth and development of humans Humans as being pre-wired to act or behave in a certain way Historical Development and Social Constructions Childhood is a socially constructed concept as societies interpret the stage in different ways Societies vary on the definition of childhood or how to (not) parent Michael Wyness (2006) In some societies, it is still considered quite normal for children to do substantial jobs. Wyness found out that in Mexico, teenage children spent their teenage years in domestic employment Historical Development and Social Constructions cont'd Amnesty International (2007) There are about 300,000 child soldiers around the world actively involved in fighting Ruth Benedict(1955) In Samoa, children were not considered too little to do dangerous jobs In Tikopia, individuality of children was respected Amongst the aborigines in Australia, children were allowed to play sexual games Historical Development and Social Constructions cont'd PHILIPPE ARIES(1973) – children in medieval times In medieval times, roughly twelfth and sixteenth century, modern concept of childhood did not exist Age had little or no significance Children died before reaching adulthood As soon as a child could live without the support of his mother, nanny, or cradle rocker, s/he was seen as an adult Children were seen as insignificant and complete Children were seen and dressed as mini adults There was little difference between children and adult games Parents did not get painters to paint portraits of their children Historical Development and Social Constructions cont'd The emergence of childhood Aries claimed that childhood began to emerge as children’s toy and clothes were introduced This was due partly to the activities of churchmen and seventeenth century moralists Schools were being introduced to segregate children from adult world Criticisms of Aries His work was value laden and highly controversial He has been criticized for claiming that the concept of childhood did not exist at some point in human history; other sources have suggested that childhood existed but was only seen differently He has also been criticized for overgeneralization Changing attitudes to children Development of the idea of romantic love Activities of philosophers like Jean Jacques Rousseau (enlightenment thinker) Over time, the understanding of childhood has changed in Western society and everywhere else: - e.g. collective understanding of adolescence as a distinct period in the life course, teenage years as a distinct transitional period, and longer periods of dependency on adults  Changing attitudes to children cont’d The change in the understandings of the nature of childhood also led to the change in the ideas of what constitutes good parenthood Research shows that mothers in the 1980s ventured more into the labour force, and expectation of their parenting also changed Children were presented as more capable and independent in the 1980s and mothers in the labour force were more likely to be understood as good role models who were creating future opportunities for their children  Changing attitudes to children cont’d In the 2000s, while employed mothers of young children were much more the norm, mothers’ paid work was also more likely to be positioned as detracting from children’s well-being “Good parenting” has become much more child-centered and intensive over the last three decades Intensive Parenting Sharon Hays, in The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood, coined the term ‘intensive mothering’ to describe what she saw as the unprecedented attentiveness to children’s development that had come to be expected of good mothers Often, this attentiveness conflicts with mothers labour force participation expectations According to Annette Lareau’s ethnographic study (2002, 2003), middle class parents practiced “concerted cultivation,” a concept similar to intensive parenting Intensive Parenting cont’d Many authors have argued that intensive parenting expectations now set the standard for good parenting in Canada and other Western societies The Historical and Cultural Development of Intensive Parenting: Can be traced back to the mid twentieth century after the end of the Second World War One of the major psychological ideas proposed at this time were John Bowlby’s theories of maternal deprivation and attachment. The deprivation hypothesis posits that when there is disruption or discontinuation between primary caregiver/mother and an infant, cognitive, emotional and social dysfunction of that infant can occur. Intensive Parenting cont’d The relative prosperity of the post-World War II, medical advancements in vaccines, and disease control contributed to the shift in child-rearing advice literature that saw a greater focus on children’s psychological and emotional well-being Another notable change in the new advice was the way that mothers’ and children’s needs were increasingly seen as being opposed, rather than complimentary Neoliberalism and Risk Culture Neo-liberal political ideas stressed individual, rather than collective, responsibility for social ills, and as neo-liberal politics spread, the cultural acceptance of individual responsibility for success in life With respect to parenting, this meant careful planning, based on expert advice, for children’s future success Child rearing advice literature focused much more on risks to children, and parents’ responsibility to manage it, and became even more child-centred in the process The threshold of what is considered an acceptable risk to children has lowered notably The Brain Development Thesis The brain development proponents argue that Research on child-rearing suggest that parents could literally affect the way their children’s brains were wired and their future brain potential by providing ample and appropriate cognitive stimulation in the early years Brain development advice built on the assumptions of attachment theory, namely that continually responsive parental attention was needed to build secure attachment Consequently, children’s cognitive development, academic achievement and their future brain potential in general were added to the growing responsibilities that parents had for children’s emotional, psychological and physical well-being Involvement in a child’s school life is (now) viewed as an essential component of good parenting The Brain Development Thesis cont’d Ontario’s Early Years Centres and The Invest in Kids Foundation “Years Before 5” campaign were the products of this development Despite criticisms of this claim, brain development advice became very popular in the media and with those providing parenting education In the 2000s, experts began to raise concerns about the possible negative effects that all of this parental attention may have for children – children are not developing resilience Over-parenting and Building Resilience Concerns over raising a generation of stressed and over-scheduled children who lack the imagination and capabilities needed to succeed on their own in adulthood Helicopter parenting Balancing “under-parenting” and “over-parenting” – the need to build resilience in children It is also evident that building resilience in children would not necessarily result in less intensive parenting Gender and Parenting In heterosexual, two-parent families, mothers spend significantly more time, on average, caring for children and engaging in housework than fathers do In 2015 mothers in Canada were responsible for about 60% of household work and almost 2/3 of childcare tasks Many structural and cultural factors contribute to this, including gender differences in salary and employment that result in families prioritizing men’s careers, and workplace cultures that make taking time off for childcare more difficult for men Gender and Parenting cont’d Cultural understandings of gender which position mothers as more natural parents than fathers are deeply engrained in Canadian society Studies show that intensive parenting expectations fall more heavily on mothers than on fathers in our culture Fathers are seen as breadwinners first and parents second Trends in recent decades point to a slow but steady improvement in fathers’ involvement in housework and childcare Inequality and Intensive Parenting Intensive parenting as an ideology is based on the assumption that parents have the time, financial resources and supports to spend ample time teaching and playing with children It is a very middle-class ideal that most low-income families cannot possibly meet, whether they wanted to or not Less privileged mothers tend to lack the time, financial resources and social capital to engage in highly intensive parenting Inequality and Intensive Parenting cont’d The parenting styles of the less-privileged mothers are aimed at helping their children survive the realities of a world where marginalized groups have different life chances and opportunities Nelson (2010) in her study noted differences in the style of parenting between the professional middle-class parents and the less-privileged parents Inequality and Intensive Parenting cont’d Although intensive parenting is not realistic or possible for those who do not enjoy middle class privilege, it does set the standard for good parenting and good mothering in particular Middle class parents often suffer stress, burnout and mental health problems from the demands associated with intensive parenting Third Culture Kids – Today's Reality – Vicky Schdeva  Conclusion Contemporary expert and cultural understandings of good parenting are based on neoliberal assumptions of individual self-management, responsibility and control over life outcomes Acknowledging that parenting comes with many challenges and that structural barriers impact the life chances of both parents and children could result in a shift towards policy and programs based on an understanding of social responsibility for child outcomes Parenting in Canadian society today is highly child-centred and intensive Good parenting requires ample time, energy and financial resources and is more intensive, according to many family scholars, than at any time in the past The current culture of parenting in Canada and its development have implications for cultural expectations and parent-child relationship