Parenting Issues - Case Study Example

 Parenting issues have always fascinated social scientists. It is usually studied in a socio-cultural or psychological context since it involves a social unit (family) that exists within the confines of a certain culture. Hence, it is a given that families adapt to the culture it lives in. The two compelling books, Parenting for Primates by Harriet Smith and Our Babies, Ourselves by Meredith Small add another dimension in the study of parenting and child-rearing, that of biology. Harriet Smith, is a primatologist, or a scientist involved in the study of primates and clinical psychologist who handles cases on a variety of human psychological problems. Fusing the two disciplines, she has come up with a perspective that all primates basically display similar biological behavior. She based this belief on her observations of certain cotton-shirt tamarin monkeys in her care. She found out that primate parents do not actually possess parental instincts in caring for their infants. She has confirmed this with human parents in her psychological practice. She believes that although there are biological predispositions to parenting, primates depend more on social models in caring for their young than their own children. Meredith Small is an anthropologist who is contributing much to the new science of ethnopediatrics and culture. Ethnopediatrics as a discipline wants to promote the child's physical and emotional health. By studying the intersection of biology and cross-cultural patterns it can promote the child's best interests. Small analyzes how children are reared in different cultures. She posits that certain biological imperatives for nurturing infants are neglected and changing lifestyles dictate that humans deviate from them, to the detriment of our children's well being. Parenting styles are greatly affected by the culture in which they live. Small advocates that babies have historic, innate behaviors that communicate their needs to their parents. These babies expect their parents to understand their cries. However, the evolution of cultural values and changing societal demands have created variations in the way parents respond to their babies’ communication attempts. It is interesting how the theme of the two books complement each other. As Harriet Smith disproves parental instinct, Meredith Small explains how cultural factors are responsible for it. Smith’s monkeys, in her observation, were clueless with what to do with a new addition to the family. The parents of newborns seem agitated with the infant’s cries. It took another monkey, Rachel, to show them the way. Rachel was a tamarin monkey who was equipped to care for babies, having been captured as an adult in Colombia and raised in a normal family group. Hence, she was able to model her parenting skills after her own mother as Rachel observed her caring for her younger siblings. Rachel took on the role of foster mother for the newborn babies, and other babies that followed. Through Rachel's care, those monkeys grew up to become good parents, and even the original tamarin parents eventually learned parenting skills. Smith claims that parenting skills, although not natural to primates including humans, can be learned. Babies just need to adjust to their parents’ behaviors. Meredith Small takes culture into consideration and compares how parenting styles the world over differ. In western cultures, parents stand not picking up their crying babies to teach them to be more independent. However, in the east, parents seem more responsive to their baby’s non-verbal communication. Small argues that parents from eastern cultures are more attuned to their own biological instincts as they provide the infant with the physical attachment and care the infant biologically expects. Practices such as placing infants in cribs and car seats rather than holding them, as well as feeding babies on a schedule rather than on demand and not responding quickly when they are distressed, make babies discontented, and hence cry more. Small recommends "an evolutionary and cross-cultural view of human infancy coupled with real biological data that can be used to understand truly what is best for infants" The satisfying of the biological imperatives enables the child to survive. Small believes that "bonds are somehow triggered at the moment of birth, and that the primary and most fundamental bond is that between mother and infant" Female animals have been preprogrammed to like their off-springs and vice-versa. She concludes that “bonding between mother and infant is part of our primate heritage, an essential component and a fundamental feature of human nature.” This contradicts Smith’s view that primate mothers have no innate maternal instincts. Instead, Smith believes that parenting skills are learned through experience and observation. Primates learn them as they observe their own parents or as they baby-sit younger primates. Human parents not exposed to parenting behavior as children resort to self-help books and parenting resources. To Smith, looking up to a model is essential in the dynamics of families. Non-human primate females establish strong bonds with their mothers to emulate gender-specific behavior. Non-human primate males do not necessarily bond with their fathers, as in most cases they are absent in their growth, but refer to a male leader in the community in which they belong. Paternal behavior may often be a community effort rather than a special bond shared between a male adult nonhuman primate and a child nonhuman primate. Roles expected of fatherhood in primates are "protecting, providing care, and provisioning resources" With humans, pair bonding is common. These are couples whose bonded relationship bears children who in turn witness their relationship to each other and the interactions among family members. Usually, the kind of relationship children observe are similar to the kinds of relationships they establish with other people when they grow up. With non-human primates, pair bonding is not prevalent. When human pairs consummate their relationship with sexual intercourse, there is usually a strong emotional bond attached to it. However, with non-human primates, no such emotional attachment takes place during copulation. This huge difference is one factor that builds values in child-rearing that form family bonds that non-human primates are not concerned with. Human society dictates that families are mostly composed of both a mother and a father, and children bond with both parents, being their primary caregivers. Human fathers are expected to take part in the rearing of their children. Small’s anthropological perspective shows cultural diversity in raising human families. An example is the investigation of the difference between child-rearing practices of the Japanese and the Americans. Japanese families uphold social value of group first, so being responsive to group demands precede the value of self-expression. Japanese children get to be dependent on these group expectations. Americans emphasize the individual and advocates independence as young as infancy. Babies are trained to sleep alone and be left to cry rather than promoting dependency by being soothed by parents. As Smith tracks human development as parallel to non-human primate development over life, a lot of similarities unfold. The juvenile years are a period when primates learn to adjust to their group’s culture and learn how to survive. Fitting in means following behaviors expected of their gender. Both human and non-human primates go through the stage of preferring the company of same-sex primates as they play gender roles to practice being mothers for females, and being skilled physically for males. As primates go through adolescence, they get interested in peer groups and sexual activities. Sex in non-human primates is uninhibited while with humans, there are societal restrictions. However, for both, it seems like a general rule to avoid having sex with closely related family members. In that case, incest in primates is regarded as naturally abnormal. Smith chronicles behavioral changes in parent-child relations as adolescents become more independent. Since hormones in adolescents are most active to cause emotional upheaval, they get into mood swings that make them ambivalent in being dependent on their parents and being autonomous. Tensions arise as growing children get ready to try out their wings in the world outside of their family unit. Both Harriet Smith and Meredith Small have come up with thorough research on and delivered them in a dynamic and captivating writing style that keeps their readers in awe of their knowledge and magnificent talent. Culling from their expertise in science and anthropology, they have presented complementing, overlapping as well as differing perspectives on parenting and family life, widening the horizons of readers from their mostly myopic views. Both women emphasize the biological foundation for human relationships. Upon reading their work, readers will have a greater appreciation of how nature truly designed primates to seek strong social bonds and how nurture can influence the strength of those bonds. Read More