Parenting

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Parenting o parenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood o Parenting refers to the activity of raising a child rather than the biological relationship o parere (latin) = to bring forth, develop or educate Parenting has issues with physical, emotional, social, development how different is it to parent an infant, and parenting a teenager Parenting goes way belong biological related We all have been parented and many of us do or wil parent o reflections on how we were parented have been shown to be extremely important for understanding aspects of our own personalities and behaviors relating to our parents as we become adults and parents ourselves thinking through our current or future parenting goals and strategies o reflecting on how we were parented ourselves has many different outcomes o it really helps us understand where we our coming from o helps us to relate to our parents as we become adults ourselves o we might even end up appreciating our parents even more

The journal 1 page, double spaced

Journal # 1 Topic Overscheduling? www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2076383n Watch video were you overscheduled? If so, what did you do, how did you feel about it at the time and how do you feel about it looking back now? If not, how did you spend your free time, how did you feel about it at the time and how do you feel about it looking back now?

podcast
PARENTING: Introduction (April 1, 2010)

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Office hours and TAs My office hours: Thursdays 12:45-2:30PM, Cross Cultural Center Library TAs Gena Glickman: Tuesdays 12:40-2:30PM, 3336 McGill Hall Shiloh Beckerley: Thursdays 9:00-10:50AM, 3316 McGill Hall

Student Panel April 20th Looking for 4-6 students to sit up front and share cultural perspectives on parenting based on personal experience Fun and rewarding Please e-mail me at ajroberts@ucsd.edu Parenting is a process pretty much anyone can do

Purpose of having children? To create a family Different definitions of family You love children Support for when you get older More conscience in older times, different cultures It is still in cultures and was this idea to have children to pass on family name pass on your business, etc. Producing & sustaining wealth Creating a citizenry for defense & homeland security

Culturally dependent Time dependent Transference of social or biological capital Creating others like you to pass on your values and genes Pass on gene pool Provide meaning to life Provide meaning to relationships save relationships maybe a baby will bring us closer together Just because It was an accident ;-)

Child vulnerability: History Idea of parenting rises from the idea that children are born vulnerable and needy Babies are pretty incapable of doing anything productive early on Concept of were vulnerable sort of shapes the way parenting has been done we are going to be looking at these vulnerabilities and how they influence child development try to decrease these vulnerabilities limited resources for sustenance, hunger

Sustenance Life expectancy Very poor child life expectancy If we knew child might not live very long big risk how would that change your idea of parenting, attachment Power of rulers Political framework How politics and power affect child welfare and how people view children in society Whether girls are scorned upon Whether issues of the first son the first daughter, etc. Cheap labor

 War

Prior to education being a priority Children were expected to work at a very young age But what came with this, came abusive factor Because it was cheap labor, accepted

Children brought into war Or their parents go to war Environment disrupted

Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938 No child would work more than 40 hours a week, the minimum wage would be 40 cents per hour. Minors below 16 were not to work in those industries which are classified to be hazardous. There were no age restrictions for children to work in non-hazardous environments. (different now a days with work permits and stuff like that) Children were to work only outside their school hours and during vacations, but only for limited hours.

Human child vulnerable: Now Poverty One of the biggest issues when you start looking at outcome measures in terms of children: mental, physical health Hugely tied with socio economic status Illness Physical mental health issues are big Were getting more understanding of child mental health Diagnosis and treatment Vulnerability of children and how parenting has to adapt to that Family structure changes

Most of our history we lived with our extended families Western families, live walking distance Divorce, remarriage, changes Demands of work Biggest factor was when mother was working outside of home and the impacts that may have had on parenting Discipline controversies Traditional disciplinary Things that fall in and out of favor Global idea of punishment Physical punishment not a good idea but some people still argue against that Peer influences Bigger groups, gangs, group of kids Kids are very influenced by each other and by the media Empowerment of children Children have rights Children can sue their parents Children have almost political capital Certainly have media power Media influence Loss of parenting standards

 Dont really have parenting standards that we all live by Theres a lot of variety This can create some issues when dealing with a society that is so diverse

USA Between 1 and 4 years of age, the highest percentage of death is though unintentional injury Developing Countries 55% of infant mortality can be linked to malnutrition historical changes then theres cultural differences going on in one time point History of Childhood (examples) Aristotle 335 BC said all children should receive education felt strongly that moral and social learning was the way to achieve happiness he was ahead of his time with this idea but forgotten for many years Lewis Carroll Writer of Alice in Wonderland 1865 Depicted childhood as playful Before this time, concept that children were miniature adults This new idea of children and play was really brought out in the writing of Lewis Carroll Not only just playful, but separate from adults Mary Cassatt

Painting the bath 1891 Idea showing picturing a nurturing mother Goes along with the theory developing at the time which is the important role of the mother in terms of child development Kind of during that industrial revolution time period Mothers take on big role in child rearing Sigmund Freud Late 1800s and 1930s Concept of psychoanalytical conception Idea that childhood trauma could cause adult mental instability huge deal That made a big shift in how we saw children development and how much we will playing the role He focused on psycho sexual concept His followers did a bigger breakdown but not the sexual aspect Georg Kerschensteiner Basically 1900s Really brought this idea that education system should include some skill work concept When children were being educated, it should be related with something they can do in their life, some responsibility Give people the sense that they can do something, create a more responsible citizenly and a more socially conscience society John Watson 1920s very interested in how impressive the cognitive competence of infants is really feeling infants, even though very innate behaviors, show: fear, anger, love: all part of building blocks of later cognition really points out the importance of parenting at the very early stages, the environment of very early stages Arnold Gesell

 Early 1940s Person who was pretty big in developmental milestones Really developing standards, which is good but can also cause problems Podcast? Margaret Mead Cultural anthropologist Between 1920s and 1940s Really brought out the concept of cultural variation in childhood We were developing this idea that what we do is the best and anything other than that is not good And the idea that childhood development are not culturally constant Eric Erikson 1950 ish really integrated Freud psycho sexual development issue with social development with ego development focus of ego development was focusing on play and school: things that make children feel good about themselves, and can feel rewarded, self esteem talked a lot about developmental stages progression of thought and how it all impacted General changes Children in trust rather that owned Before it used to be viewed, Owned by parents particularly the father A new idea came where Children entrusted to their parents, take care of them dont own them Increased free choice in marriage (companionate) This might change parenting Love marriages More room for friendliness and care Smaller families (nuclear)

Nuclear families: a mom, a dad, their biological children (usually 2.5) Not involving lots and lots of children, usually not extended families Parenting period longer People stay with parents longer Even in college, still dependent on parents Back in the day, girls were married off before 10th birthday Public recognition of deficient care/public care and protection Change when public, government is involved Education as a priority Changes the way children delth with Technology

children should be seen and not heard Can see historical aspect through this quote United Nations Charter of Childrens Rights Children should receive: Minimum level of care Culturally assigned minimal level of care Depend on cultural restraints and issues Positive developmental opportunities Freedom from abuse Conceptual framework of parenting Puts all concept of parenting into this framework allows the evaluation of parenting practices also allows people to constrict programs to help parents really guides research to have this kind of framework Parenting activities o Core elements of parenting Functional areas o Aspects of childs functioning to focus on

 Prerequisites o What parents need in order to do their job Parenting activities Care o Meeting survival needs Control o Setting and enforcing boundaries, monitoring Development o Fulfillment of potential

Care Physical Food, warmth, shelter, sleep, cleanliness, for young children elimination of bodily waste, prevention of accidents Emotional Love, respect, attachments, idea of being able to create secure attachment, managed risk taking Part of emotional development is children learning where their own boundaries are: enough boldness to try new things, but caution to not try everything Also, freedom from avoidable anxiety. Ex. Would be parents arguing avoid doing that in front of children, avoid doing that giving anxiety to children Social

 Becoming responsible for self management Teaching children how to do things for themselves: use the bathroom, good cleanliness, tie shoes, dress Relationships: enabling children how to have positive relationships This is important when they get into the peer influencing years, you hope they choose the right friends of who they hang out with Developmental self esteem, ties in with emotion They kind of interloping with one another Control Increased liberal views, legal issues More liberal views these days about control of children, but then lots of legal issues children getting in more trouble than they did before Lots of variability Of how people deal with children and misbehavior Changes with the ages of children Limited consensus On how to do with this

Development Not essential to survival Not essential as care and control Encouragement Opportunities Creating opportunities Teaching children cultural awareness Recycling, sports, arts, science Values

 Sense of self These are important, but lower on the hierarchy wouldnt worry about this if food and water are not there first Functional areas Ares of children development, lives that require attention and should be attended to Physical health Preventing damage to their children through avoidable problems Prevention but also reactant If harm occurs, have to react to it and deal with it Intellectual & educational functioning Utilizing the childs potential Children have dif potential different areas Understanding childs educational development: help bad area, etc. Social behavior Focus on social development Really understanding having children recognize and internalize social standards for certain behaviors For ex. Person and property rights Children need to understand its not okay to hurt others without good reason, hurt animals, etc. Mental health

 Increasing childrens mental resiliency We know so much now that there is a biological underline, genetics underline a lot of psychological disorders We know certain people who will be more vulnerable May or may not be differential environmental control over these things In face of genetic vulnerability, what can we do as parents to work with this in a good way

Prerequisites What parents need in order to do their job broken into four areas Knowledge & understanding o Meeting ordinary needs & risk assessment Motivation o Action requires this Resources o Needs, wants, desires for parenting Opportunity o Time for parenting

Knowledge & understanding Recognition Recognizing the childs state Recognizing your child may be suffering or happy etc. Need to have an understanding of child to recognize Interpretation Especially very young children who arent very verbal Child crying interpreting why Age dependent Response

 Sometimes may be better not to do something Other things really jump in and deal with it Assessment of impact When you respond to something, make sure you get a feedback: did it work, not work Anxious about going to school? Really have to think about it

Motivation Relates to parents own needs & social support Identity Work Responsibility Relationships Income Stresses Again, its a hierarchal thing If worried about next $, wont really worried or notice if child is suffering mild state or something Social dislocation Immigration, having to move Getting relocated Personal responsibility Your own level of feeling responsible or not Deals with step families How responsible people feel for the child This will impact motivation

Resources Qualities Personality characteristic of parents Are you verbal, stable, etc. Skills

 Formally through parenting workshops Or informally: trial and error, talking to family, mom, or media Social network Nice network society all contribute to child positive influence Gradual erosion of family ties Less extended family ties Other people picking up slack: teachers, coaches, religious leaders, etc. Material Food, goods, services Poverty is really the most powerful predictor of substances, disadvantages, and vulnerability

Opportunity Time for parenting Working mothers Some people say having working moms increases resources But some people say less favorable because less supervision, less control, etc. More rewarding environment? Less favorable outcome?

Journal Topic #2 It Takes a Whole Village to Raise a Child In these transient times, when the extended family that used to be a youngster's loving village are so far away from one another, the call is out to neighbors, teachers, coaches, religious leaders, and all others to take on this special role of the village. What does this proverb mean to you? Describe your village. Or do you feel that this was lacking in your childhood? Is a village necessary?

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Parenting and Risk & Resilience
(April 8, 2010)

Risk factor Adverse event/situation that increases the probability of future harm Exposure can lead to vulnerability

Examples of future harm Antisocial behavior o Age-inappropriate actions and attitudes that violate family expectations, societal norms, and the personal or property rights of others Criminality Psychological disorders Drug/alcohol abuse

Resilience factor

Increases the ability to withstand risk & emerge without serious harm from the
experience of adversity Risk factors and resilience factors are interacting Act as.. Mediators o Causal link

They have causal impact on outcome by mediating but they can also moderate Conflict in the home is differently a risk factor, shown to increase psychological distress This can then have effects on many child life Moderators o Changes link Parental conflict again, (direct- children hearing fighting) but part of that parents are hostile at one another as well, storming around the house, bickering at the children, this is an added risk factor, actually intensifying the distress, adding additional risk But also next door, grandma lives there who told you to come to her when stressed, calming environment She is a resilient factor she is moderating this issue but allowing the distress to decrease Of coarse not as simple as this. Other things factor as well: childs temperament, siblings, school environment, etc. GOAL Increase resilience Decrease risk

Complex interaction Family Individual Environment

Not necessarily predictable

How children are going to respond to these dif risks and resiliences How does resilience work?

Affects the nature of/exposure to the risk factor?

ex. A child exposed to something horrible (parental conflict) but a child who is social has good friendships and sports at school, those kind of pro social events may have the potential to affect the nature of the exposure to the risk. Fight only one part of social sphere experience risk in different ways depending on in this case, childs temperament Decreases likelihood of negative chain reaction? risk factors have a tendency to snowball, one thing goes wrong then another goes wrong idea is that having resilience can hopefully decrease the likelihood of a snowball Promotes self-esteem? resilience can promote self esteem and also self efficacy ( ability and feeling that you can do things for yourself) give you that feeling of having a secure supportive environment Re-routes risk paths? opening up new positive opportunities sometimes moving to a new neighborhood can be good, or could be bad how the children sees it determines whether it is a risk or resilient

Filtering role of parents want to shield children from risk, but cant do this too much because children need to learn how to cope with risk children need reality to some degree there is always this medium that parents have to find ex. Gun exposure shielding is good, but not so much that you make a child into a hermit a lot of this is also childrens temperament too Want to shield children from adversity But too much shielding may backfire

Historical changes that impact vulnerability & resilience historically people lived in larger family units, but this is falling off in the rest grandparents tended to be great resilient factor Grandparents not in homes as much More distant relationships with extended family members Family time is scheduled & limited back in the day, families often worked together, but now a days we tend to have more scheduled time, so not necessarily interacting on a relaxed basis and also limited, this is a potential where resilience could be faltering Increased exposure to media/technology change in risk and resilience with regards to childrens use to media and technology ex. Videogames for the adolescent

Family Factors Resilience Risk

Family Factors: Resilience

2 adults?
seen before as the most resilient way for children to be raised, but lots of question whether it is true At least 1 close adult research does suggest that having at least one close adult to whom the child has a secure attachment is trusting is an important issue Secure attachment Containment a parent contains the child: that the parent has an understanding of the childs actions, behaviors, how theyre feeling, etc. enough that they can imagine in their mind what theyre child is doing as you get older, parents arent containing you as much

children like the sense of being contained, like the sense that their parents understand them of coarse you get to a certain age, where you detest the containment Parents role in schooling parents are important in making sure kids attend school and what school making sure children has place to study at home, monitoring hwk (how much though) Extended family a lot to due with geography and closeness, and whether attachment has been formed with children and their extended families Turn any of this around then it would become risk factor

Attachment in lab, mother leaves, child is left behind with toys etc. then mother comes up securely attached child, will notice when mother leaves, sometimes show signs of distress, but will typically start playing again fairly quickly but maybe keep monitoring where his mom. When mom comes back, child immediately acknowledge mother and then get back to toys but still keep eye on mom Insecure attachment Avoidant the relationship b/w mom and child, mom does not have much tenderness and comforting ability, so when mom comes back from being gone from infant strain, infant notices, but the infant does not go and try to contact the mother as much, because they are not really comforted by that mother themselves typically showing less positive physical contact with the children Resistant/ambivalent children often are not comforted as well by mom, but actually show that theyre angry, lot of inconsistency. Child might get positive contact but it is inconsistent. Children dont seek it out positive contact, because they dont know if its going to be there Disorganized/disoriented mom is seen as scary typical of children who are abused and children feel relieved when the mother leaves. Avoidant vs. ambivalent both cry more frequently, show more angry protesting, but avoidant children have less positive physical contact and ambivalent children have inconsistent positive physical contact Studying suggest that more that 50% of children have secure attachments children dont necessarily need to have strong secure attachment with mother specifically, other adults work too Attachments are important for childrens development Secure o Meets needs, consistent, discipline, structure Avoidant

o Insensitive, lacking tenderness Resistant/ambivalent o Minimal/inconsistent responsiveness Disorganized/disoriented o Unpredictable, scary

Family factors: Risk

Abuse
obvious enormous risk, not only messes with attachment the way that we are attached, way that we learn about trust and comfort, appropriate physical contact, that shapes our relationships later in life physical sexual emotional abuse Overt conflict often b/w parents, this is one of the hardest thing for children to deal with children often feel responsible for the fighting Separation/divorce children feel responsible for this the conflict around this separation is the risk if separation makes for peaceful environment then it is a good thing so sometimes separated parents are better off than parents in conflict separation divorce cause temporary risk, but if they are resolved in a way that they were not responsible and everything is organized and peaceful, then children settle in and the risk is decreased Parents delaying childrens growth there is an age dependence to this as children get older, they need to have more freedom ultimately, children need some help leaving the home and taking care of themselves Parental illness whether its mental illness or what Parental criminality even if parent is in jail, sometimes its still wise to let child see the parent because of possible attachment Loss & bereavement

loss of parent of sibling huge risk factor for children again, its all about increasing resilience around that

Individual Factors Resilience Risk

Individual Factors: Resilience

Gender
being female is actually a resilient factor socially and culturally boys are supposed to be rough and tumble, girls are supposed to be sweet and quiet gender expectations and molds but is still shown to be resilient factor Intelligence this may be part of ones temperament its things like problem solving capability can certainly model that from people around them but also some innate aspects Communication skills pro social contact, positive social interaction which again have problem solving issues, anti bullying attitude, learning how to use social situations in positive ways definitely can be enhanced by parents demonstrating how you deal with this things Sense of humor having fun, being able to laugh is a resilient factor Religious belief having that sense of community and support, faith Temperament rudimentary personality concept

Temperament How a child copes with, is perceived by & interacts with her/his environment Easy vs. difficult infants are classified as being easy or difficult easy temperament baby: smiley, fit in with routine, take them with you, they dont cause too many problems, they adapt, they also make attachment very easy for the parents theories: difficult children may have more resilience difficult temperament baby: more crying, more unpredictable, harder to care for, might actually be protective factor in times of hardships Goodness of fit how the childs temperament feeds into how the parent responds and then feeds back into the child if parent is rewarded by childs behavior and then gives that back create this concept of goodness of fit

Goodness of fit

Individual Factors: Risk Genetics Learning/developmental disabilities Physical illness Teen pregnancy

Environmental Factors Resilience Risk

Environmental Factors: Resilience Social network Good housing/non-poverty being able to live in a safe neighborhood in a house that provides shelter means that your not struggling for just your basic care better chance of good health children arent separated from peers in terms of resources School attendance depends on school

School issues School attitude important Academic, emotional, social learning Parental involvement

Environmental Factors: Risk Poverty o Overcrowding, inadequate food, poor schools, poor health care, risk of injury, isolation, prejudice, moving Disasters

Not Too Soon for Mental Health Care in Port-au-Prince (Leah James, Huffington Post, April 7, 2010)

Important Conclusions

Early experiences more significant

this depends on the experiences some people argue that young children are more resilient

but still def need to pay attention to early experiences Chronic adversity worse fighting and fighting and fighting over years could potentially be worse for a parents getting divorce Risk factors often snowball Synergistic effects of risk one risk factor (depends on risk, and children), there is 1-2% probability of child developing problem 3 risk factors 8% negative mental health outcome More than 4 risk factors, 20% adding more risk, increasing chance of negative outcome The Blind Side Extra Credit Journal For full credit: 1 entry for each lecture Please include lecture date and assignment # Hard copy due at end of quarter we will have times/place worked out for this by 9th week

Journal Assignment #3 Think of one risk factor and one resilience factor from your own childhood and describe each and how they interacted to affect you.

30/03/2010 13:02:00 Social Context of Parenting

Social Influences Politics & Policy Demographic & other social trends Research & education

Were going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and thats going to take some time.

Health Care Bill 2010: Parenting Kids with health problems. Healthcare reform legislation prohibits insurers from excluding from coverage children with pre-existing health conditions. excluding adults with pre-existing conditions, but not until 2014. Older children and parental insurance. Dependent children up to age 26 will be able to stay on their parents' family policy, after President Obama signs the bill. Reflects the idea that parenting continues until adulthood Children's health insurance program. Kids' eligibility for the popular CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program), which helps lower-income families, must be maintained, under the bill. Wellness program. Under bill language, "qualified health plans" will have to provide with no cost-sharing immunizations and other preventive health services for infants, children, and adolescents.

Demographic Changes Marriage rates 50% drop in marriage rates within last few years Cohabitation Living together (with children or not with children) is on the rise Age of parents Postponement of parenthood, first time parents are getting older 1970: average girl becoming mom is 21.4 now its 25 Births outside marriage Not marrying Birth control pills 25% of birth in 2002 was outside of marriage Teen births Increase slightly over the last 30 years Divorce Increase, a lot, after the 70s Single parenthood increase Step-families Increase 63% of children grow up with both biological parents one of lowest rates in western culture Mothers working outside the home More mothers working outside of home Increased working hours More time away from children possibly More work related stresses Poverty

 Not necessarily a growing rate of children raised in poverty, but its not decreasing 2002: 17% of families (family of 4) were surviving with 8,300$/year Opinion surveys dont necessarily reflect agreement with demographic changes people in general believe that people who want children should get married, but clearly that is not the predominant case popular opinion surveys show that children suffer if mothers have full time jobs Children in Two or Single Parent Homes: 1970-2005 1970: 85% two parent homes 2005: 67% two parent homes Mothers working outside the home

Percentage of individuals living in poverty by age Research Attachment Dysfunctional parenting & childrens antisocial behavior Family stress Parenting & paid work

Attachment Originally Attachment was really thought to be an important issue between mothers and their infants -1940s That created issue of what do we do if children arent attached to mothers concern Bonds between any primary caring adult Modified

 Stimulated research Influenced public policy Attachment involves proximity maintenance (desire to be near people that were attached to), safe haven (returning to the attached figure for comfort and safety), secure base (base of security from which children can feel secure enough that they can explore but feel that they can have that base), separation distress (anxiety when child is removed from their attachment) Patterns of Attachment Secure o Parents emotionally available, perceptive, responsive Insecure avoidant o Parents emotionally unavailable, imperceptive, unresponsive; rejecting Insecure anxious/ambivalent o Parents inconsistently available, perceptive, responsive; intrusive Insecure disorganized o Parents frightening, frightened, disorienting, alarming Insecure attachments increase risk so how do we remedy them Policy Back in the day, when children were born prematurely, they were put into incubators, the idea was that they were very delicate and they were really better off to be not contacted too much by too many people but as this whole concept of attachment, it became very important that parents have the ability to attach to their child very early on Now hospitals immediately give baby to mother right after birth for some immediate bonding time Treatment of children in hospitals & orphanages o Rotating to primary caregivers Foster care system Adoption

Foster Care Mid 1800s placing out system Taking children and putting them into other peoples homes These were mostly street kids, dont know much about their backgrounds They were shipped on trains to the Midwest to stay with families They were raised in exchange of them working on their farm There were laws to protect animals against abuse but no laws to protect children Late 1800s more focus on restoring children to parents Temporarily help families take care of children so then they can then be returned Problem was that this wasnt really happening, instead foster care drift was happening Mid 1900s foster care drift Kids were getting placed, then replaced, In and out of foster care It was clear that there wasnt a excellent strategy for monitoring children of foster care and really working to get them back into their original home Late 1900s Child Welfare Reform Lot of legislation to do with child abuse, foster laws

Dysfunctional parenting & childrens antisocial behavior Precursors to potential Signs of conduct problems in children Behaves impulsively, thoughtlessly jeopardizing the safety of himself and others. Is manipulative, lies or cons his way through situations. Will not follow rules, enjoys breaking the law. Borrows money without repaying it.

Steals. Is overly aggressive, often picking fights. Is willing to hurt others emotionally or physically without remorse. Is arrogant and overly confident. Likes to set fires. Is cruel to animals.

Note: individual children respond differently, different thresholds Dysfunctional parenting & childrens antisocial behavior Factors observed at age 8-10 predicted later juvenile convictions Harsh or erratic parental discipline Poor parental supervision Conflict between parents Separation from parents Parent or older sibling with a criminal record Low family income, decreased resources

Prevention Parental educational programs targeted toward decreasing these risk factors Emphasis on buffering against risk and increasing resilience

Examples of prevention programs First Step to Success o Parents help build school performance competencies o Kindergarten o Monitor children as they start school to get a feel if their children is seen to have a higher risk of having conduct behavior o Idea of getting in there early o School components and home components o Child behavior is monitor using a red and green card, after specified amount of time, child is rewarded one point, if childs behavior is appropriate at that time, point is on green card and vice versa

o 80% of points need to be on this green card o children at this age do tend to me very motivated by rewards o home component: work on conflict resolution Fast Track o Parents work on appropriate/consistent discipline and warmth/positive involvement o Parents work on their discipline mechanism use a more appropriate The Incredible Years Training Series o Parent group discussions, problem solving, modeling, teaching, support systems

Family stress Low income, poor housing, conflict b/w parents parental stress depression, conflict, hostility, poor discipline child delinquency Prevention of divorce-related problems Parents monitor their children and provide them with consistent nurturance and discipline Parents hide their own conflicts from children and avoid putting children in the middle of parental disagreements. After the divorce, effective co-parenting requires a business-like relationship in which parents avoid criticizing each other in front of their children.

Parenting & paid work Controversy regarding the effects of working parents on child outcomes o Mommy Wars

Major findings of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development Higher quality child care better language, cognitive development, more cooperative Higher quantity child care more behavioral problems in preschool/kindergarten

 Parent characteristics more strongly linked to child development than child care features Parenting experiences as important to children independent of amount of child care experience

Journal topic #4: Research shows that violent TV and video games are associated with aggressive behaviors in children. o How much should the government be involved in regulating these? o How much should parents be involved in regulating kids exposure to these? o Do you think anything could/should be changed? o Use examples from your own experience

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Cultural Diversity in Parenting : 4/15/10
Universal goals of parenting Ensuring the physical survival & health of the child Could be argued to be the one that is most important and most focused The only one that is focused on under situations where theres huge amounts of disaster Providing an environment for successful progression through the developmental stages into adulthood Teaching/modeling normative cultural & societal values

Those are the what goals but how these goals are accomplished is where culture comes into play However How these goals are accomplished is not necessarily universal

Ethnic/racial variations Historically considered due to deficiencies Now viewed as legitimate adaptations to different contexts

Cultural group

A collective of individuals who share common beliefs, practices, ideals, values, traditions & behaviors People with common whats and also common hows
Ethnic group

Cultural group that traces its origins to a particular area, region or country

 This can be important because the cultural context why you do things the way you do is because of the environment that youve been doing them in Ex. If you lived in a more agricultural setting vs. a cultural setting is going to affect the way you raise your children etc.
Racial group

Categorization of humans into populations on the basis of various sets of heritable characteristics (skin color, cranial/facial features, hair texture)
Researches understand culture to be organized and coherent, but no homogenous or static, and realize that the complex dynamic system of culture constantly undergoes transformation as participants (adults and children) negotiate and renegotiate meanings through social interaction. These negotiations and transactions give rise to unceasing heterogeneity and variability in how different individuals and groups of individuals interpret values and meanings Pope Edwards We give all these generalizations, but fact is there is a huge amount of variability Cultural influence on parenting Where you live and what kind of environment you live in impact what you do Organization of everyday life

o Physical & social settings o Daily routines

Parenting practices

o Routines of care & training

Parental ethnotheories

o Beliefs about children, families and themselves that are brought to interactions with children

Physical & social environment Influences what we have ethnocentrically believed is optimal development

For example, sleep behavior Its been shown that western babies when theyre 1 month old they sleep in about 2-4 hours at a time, but as these western babies age, they start to sleep for longer, so by the time they are a year old, they might be sleeping 8 hours or what not. Scientists looked at that and said thats normal. Sleeping longer has to obviously due with brain development Then an anthropologist studied sleep length in babies in West Africa Found that at 1 month of age, babies slept 2-4 hours Found that at 1 year of age, babies slept 2-4 hours, no change Clearly, these African children have a delayed development Now look at the reality, what is actually going on Western cultures, babies are as quickly as possible trained to sleep away from their parents Give them their own room, train to be independent, sleep through the night East Africa, co-sleeping, it is the norm Different styles of sleeping that impact behavior

Parenting Practices Depending on how you interact and deal with your child, they are having different experiences thus different development, doesnt mean deficiencies May create different developmental environments for children For example, ambulating with an infant

How much do you carry and or move your child around the environment And how you move your child around In many cultures, children are carried a lot, even until they are considerably heavy In our culture, theres tendency to carry babies facing forward than on the back The differences in what the baby is actually seeing from the back and from the front Their vision and what theyre seeing can affect their development Time the children first start crawling and first start walking Children who are carried around tend to have a delay in walking and crawling

Parental ethnotheories Belief systems that affect the way we pass on information and how we treat children What constitutes good Cultural differences in what constitutes a good child An example in Kenya late 60s and early 70s this particular community went from farming lifestyle to a more pay-based type of environment Studied these families Found that mothers what say that what they found was good in their children was things like obedience and courtesy and kindness As the changes were occurring, found that mothers were changing their definitions of what a good child was: clever, industrious, showed more independence Change what we value in people Gearing children up to being ready for their environment Socialization goals

Brings out this whole concept of collectivism vs individualism

Collectivism vs. Individualism Collectivism Encouraged to conform to society, to do what is best for the group and to not openly express opinions or beliefs that go against it. Group, family or rights for the common good seen as more important than the rights of individuals. Rules promote stability, order, obedience. Fitting in or conforming to group or society is required. Distinctions made between in-group and out-group. Working with others and cooperating is the norm. Refusal to cooperate and wanting to be independent or stand out is seen as shameful. Everyone must rely on others for support. In-group preferences in relationships Individualism Promotes individual goals, initiative and achievement. Each person is encouraged to stand out, be unique and express themselves. Individual rights seen as most important. Rules attempt to ensure independence, choices and freedom of speech. No need to fit in or conform to group or society. Less distinction between in-group and out-group. Relying or being dependent on others is seen as shameful. People are encouraged to do things on their own, to rely on themselves. Ease of interactions with strangers

Cultural issues in the United States

Intracultural variation (variation within the culture) o Usually similar magnitude as intercultural variation o Due to:

Personal & family beliefs

 Past experiences Cultural adaptation/change

Acculturation (intermeshing of the cultures) Cultural adaptation & change Multidirectional

o Host group affected too

Multidimensional

o Ethnic pride, loyalty, language, retention of traditions, etc.

Intermeshing of ethnic and mainstream cultures

Bicultural We care about this, because we care about making sure that people who live within our larger culture are being taken of, feeling like theyre getting what they need and a part of their culture Retain aspects of original culture Living with ease & competency in the host culture

Assimilation Gradual process whereby one set of cultural traits is replaced with a new set The idea that you gradually take on the base culture as your own

Example: language

Melting Pot Philosophy? Idea that these cultures will assimilate enough to the point where you dont have the obvious separate cultures anymore. In terms of American history, there was a lot of push towards that concept come in, assimilate, and now your American Assimilation to the point that ethnicity is not significant Acculturation intermeshing without diluting appears to be more of a reality for many.more of a tossed salad or stir fry.. discrimination

Social position Social stratification unequal distribution of resources impact on parenting Social Support

Having a huge social group can be a huge resiliency factor in terms of outcome, so you can imagine how people who come from different cultures would have a really huge drive towards finding other people with their same cultural belief system because it creates a social network that gives them power. This is a very powerful concept when you think about neighborhoods and schools. One of the unfortunate outcome is that people lose their social capital and become more isolated and therefore actually experience more discrimination Hardest thing: ensuring people have social capital without segregating groups Minority Status Parents of minority children have also the added issue of trying to teach their children of how to deal with prejudice and racism Racial socialization

Teaching about heritage, history, customs, traditions Preparation & awareness of prejudice & discrimination Relaying distrust of individuals outside racial/ethnic group

 Egalitarian socialization
Promotion of appreciation of all people and groups

Immigration No singular immigrant family experience Strong family ties/educational achievements may seem to erode Ethnicity can affect outcome Because of things like prejudice

Immigration reform Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the administration will argue for what she called a "three-legged stool" including stricter enforcement, a "tough and fair pathway to earned legal status" for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S., and a more efficient process for legal immigration.

Looking at polls, depending on age and political sway, majority do favor way for illegal immigrants currently in U.S. to gain legal citizen (if they pass background check, pay fines, and have jobs) College graduates are more favorable Democrats are more favorable Favor way for illegal immigrants currently in U.S. to gain legal citizenship (if they pass background check, pay fines, and have jobs) - STATS

Transition process There is the process of feeling eventually hopefully comfortable in this new country And the amount of time this process takes is variable Sense of overwhelming by new environment Feelings of despair & pain Acceptance of new life through a balance of continuity & change

Example: Asian and Latino Immigrant Families Fastest growing ethnic groups

Family Cultural capital

Familism, linguistic pride, religiosity, spirituality Harmony, mutual obligation, ethnicity-based social groups
Gender Social contexts in family Social contexts related to work Socialization related to gender

Intergenerational Issues Bilinguism vs monolinguism Elder respect and care Especially in Asian cultures

Parent-Child Relations Collectivism vs. independence Bilingual/multilingual vs. monolingual

Discrimination Role reversal Often lose native language

Acculturation and parental control

Children having to take up this parenting role with regards to language Education Definition of educated Positive misconceptions

Study found that Latinos viewed people that are educated are well-mannered, respected. This has been misconceived to say that latinos do not value education. But its more like there is different values in terms of what is expected of education. Misconception that asians are really good at science and math it can work against you, because you are expected to be good at it. Health No insurance Fear of deportation Language/cultural barriers Frustration understanding paperwork High risk for health problems Mental health issues

Trauma of immigration

Economic Divide Decreased educational attainment Education doesnt count here Dangerous working conditions No benefits

Resiliencies That immigrants find and have Community Finding a community Culture Finding others that share their culture Collectivistic orientation Helping them create social capital Social capital

30/03/2010 13:02:00
Kenneth

workaholic father moved around a lot young born in Chicago, moved to Atlanta, lived in China, then San Jose, highschool in Shanghai family is scattered; dont see each other formal with dad independence raise yourself

K Parents illegally married over here to get citizenship believe shoudl give more opportunities to immigrants Ana didnt see father when young moved to US when 8 and all of the sudden had a father brother is her father civil relationship with father, communication with him is different dont really relate mom is realy close Xi-Wang born raised In China, grandparents raised me, parents divorced when 2, stereotype about math a lot of people want to come over grandpa was home a lot retired not as close with mother, 11 years of being apart even in the states, mother was busy, he was very independent

urge to see grandparents secure attachments Jenene adoption, stereotype that adopted kid have relationship attachment issues born in Korea Kasey born and raised in California, stereotype fathers workaholic, divorced. Home-schooling at a young age my decision to get home school drugs in public school system in neighborhood I wanted to be in charge of my own education went to community college at 14 Zoimenzal senior, born in Sudan, stereotype of being African, parents worked a lot 2 bro 3 sisters formal with parents