I found this article, "Our Babies, Ourselves," to be very informative and informational. Typically as White/American women, there are certain aspects of parenting our babies. There are many rituals and practices we take place in while "mothering" our babies. In every country, babies are fed multiple times throughout the day, all take naps and or sleep during certain times of the day, and all are (typically) tended to with love and care. Though the way we all go about these rituals/patterns in our parenting, are practiced differently globally. This may be because of our cultural practices, religious practices, family traditions, society's beliefs, community's belief, etc. It was very interesting to read about all of the different techniques and rituals used by mothers of many different cultural backgrounds all around the world. Some mothers rock their babies to sleep before placing them in a playpen or crib, while in different cultures mothers will simply place their baby in their crib and the baby will fall right to sleep. Often, mothers in multiple cultures have their babies sleep with them in the bed at night, reducing the risk of SIDS (Sudden Death Infant Syndrome). Many women and many cultures often feed their babies breast milk well into their "toddler" (and some much further) years. In some cultures, when their baby is crying in its crib, the mother will look at the baby and tell he/she that they are OK. Mothers in other cultures will immediately attend to their crying baby and try to calm him/her down. Overall, infant care is shaped by fads, science, traditions, and folk wisdom. Cross-cultural and evolutionary studies provide a useful prospective for parents and pediatricians as they sift through the alternatives. In conclusion, I learned from this article that there are many different ways about parenting "mothering" our babies, and no one way is superior to the next.
I've grown up an only child so I've never experienced what it takes to take care of a new born on a day to day basis. Other than what I see on TV or just basic common knowledge I don't know much about raising a child at all. I never really thought about the differences there could be in different places in the world but this article illustrates that just like most things, infant parenting practice vary widely from culture to culture. While Gusii mothers might would have picked me up and soothed me to make me stop whining in my crib (or had me sleep in the bed with them rather than a crib) my mother found out that the sound of her vacuuming made me go to sleep so she tape recorded a vacuum and played it by my crib and I would go right to sleep. I think that all practices are family and cultural specific and most parents will do what they feel is best for there baby and know what works best for their new born. It should be expected that just like all social aspects differ from one place to another, a mother raising a child to live in one culture/society will use different practices than another mother somewhere else.
Being an early childhood major, this article made me think about what we have leanred through some classes as well as observing classrooms and in particular, the children's center at USC. I just finished observing the infant room and the way the caregivers interacted with the infants was based on what they know about the parent's upbringing with the chidlren as well as what they do to nurture the child the best they can. One thing I had not seen was swaddaling the infant, wrapping them up as if they were in a cocoon and then rocking them to sleep. This realted to the article when it mentioned the different culture aspect of getting a child to sleep whether it be rocking them, putting them straight in their crib, or even laying there with the baby. One last thing was about an infants cry. Cries can be ignored or focused on. I always thought (and was told) that in some cases it is better to let the baby cry it out so they can learn on their own. An alternative to that is caring for the child, telling them that you understand they are upset, you are there for recognition.
Raising an infant and going through the birthing practice is so different in every culture. For example. at the beginning of the article it talks about the women of Gusiiland. After watching a video of American mothers and newly born infants, they were shocked at how American mothers tend to their babies. They wondered why the mothers were ignoring the babies cries and why grandmothers do not soothe the baby. However, American mothers questioned how much time Gusiiland mothers are always with their babies. These mothers also did talk to the babies, so that made American mothers wonder if this will effect how smart the baby will be. One particular thing that stood out to me in this article was how mothers in other cultures make their babies sleep with them. I have discussed this topic with my Public Health class. Having babies sleep with in the same bed with you is very dangerous. There was an article earlier in January about a mother having her baby sleeping with her and she ended up suffocating the baby. It is so easy for a mother to roll over in the night and suffocate her infant. There are just so many different ways people tend to their infants and they vary from culture to culture.
This article was a very interesting read! The difference between how two cultures raise children can be quite extreme...This article really articulated many of the differences. One that comes to mind is how some American women allowed their babies to cry and the Gussi women were confused/concerned that no one tended to the child. People's opinions on how to raise children always seems to bring much debate!
I thought this article was very interesting, especially when it talked about the different ways different cultures raise their children. What one culture would see as normal when raising a child, another culture would see as ridiculous. For example, women of the Gusii culture were appalled when watching a video of American women ignoring the cries of their babies, but would found it normal to put the baby in the care of a six year old sibling. However, I think when it comes to raising children, no matter what culture you are in, it depends on the person raising the child. All parents have different views on the best ways to raise children and many of those methods result in healthy and happy children.
This article affirmed for me things I have learned throughout my courses as as Early Childhood Education major. How to raise children, particularly infants, is a topic that is normally felt very strongly about by parents. They are likely to think that any different way than their own is wrong. This is why it is important to know and respect the various care methods of other cultures. Even within one culture, the "correct" way of raising a child is constantly changing. There is always new information being learned. For example, the debate between laying an infant to sleep on their stomach versus their back. Only a few years ago, parents were told to put children on their stomachs to sleep, for the purpose of reducing SIDS. Now, laying a child to sleep on their stomach is said to the thing they are told to absolutely not do, as it may cause SIDS.
This article was not really informative for me. I am surrounded by women who are starting their families. All of these women have different views on how children should be raised. This article reaffirmed what I already knew. Everyone is never going to agree on the "correct" way to raise a baby. Despite this, most babies turn out fine, no matter the country, the parents, or the parenting style.
I thought this article was very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the different ways that people in different cultures raise their children. I can definitely see how one culture could see raising a child a certain way to be normal and another culture would see it as crazy. An example in the article that sums this up is the women of the Gusii culture versus American women. The women in the Gusii culture would never ignore the cries of their babies, but the American women would not find it normal to put their baby in the care of a young sibling. No matter what culture you are in, it depends on the person raising the child. There are many different ways to raise a child and many parents have different views. As long as these methods result in healthy and happy children, then it is okay.
I found this article interesting because I have never really thought about the differences in parenting in other cultures. Being a mother myself, I figured most mothers, whether being in a different culture or not, would share a motherly bond similar to mine. I didn't take in account the differences in cultures, such as how as americans, we are an individualistic culture, so it makes sense that we would put an emphasis on getting our children to be independent; where as in asian cultures, they are collectivistic so they tend to coddle their children more. I can also understand how in some cultures, where there tends to be a high rate of miscarriages, that the parents don't allow themselves to get as attached, as to prevent recurrent heartbreak. Being a mother, I really liked learning about the differences in raising children from culture-to-culture.
I thought this article was quite interesting due to the differences other cultures feel about daily care for their child. Gushi women in Korea feels that middle class women shouldnt ignore the simple things about their child such as crying. To us, its not wrong to allow a child to cry for a minute just to do a normal task as to just changing a diaper. Everyone has their on opinion about how they should raise their child. Even in the states not everyone raises their child the same way someone else raises their child. In the end it thought i was kind of interesting to see Anthropologist take a study into how people care for their child in different cultures.
I think this article was very interesting. The differences in child care across cultures can be very extreme. An example of this mentioned in the article is how we tend to rush infants off of breast feeding, while infants in other parts of the world may breast feed for years. In the United States, we would find it taboo to have a child breast feeding for that long, but in other places that is completely acceptable.
I found the cultural differences in this article interesting. In my developmental psychology class, we talked about a few of these differences. In the United States, parents instill values of being independent to their children, so letting your child cry when there’s no apparent problem is normal for us. However, many other cultures are more focused on having close ties, so ignoring a crying child may be seen as a form of neglect. However, like other people have said, there is no correct way to raise a child because every child has different needs. It’s up to the parents or guardians to figure out what works for their child.
Raising babies in different ways in between different cultures is not really that big of a shock to me. We as Americans do not have to travel outside the country to see these differences. My experience with child care is in constant contact with the parents and how they believe their child should be treated. There are the parents who have a child before base their concerns on their previous experience with the earlier child and the new parents usually base their concerns on what they've read in books or seen on television. The one thing I truly believe that determines how a child will be raised is how the parents were raised by their parents. Even if two sets of parents are in the same exact culture, their childhood was still always different from the others. These little differences can have a dramatic affect on their child's outcome. There is no ultimately correct way to raise a child because we all have grown up into adults which I measure as a success by the parents.
I found this article to be very interestning. People across the world have many diffenent views on how to raise and tend to their children, but even people from the same region or culture can have diffenent views and statagies how to deal with children. I have heard that in this day and age (in US and other firstworld countries) there is no medical benifit or harm to breastfeeding or not breasting feeding a child. But I'm sure that there are many women in and outside the US that refuse to not breastfeed their child
I found this article, "Our Babies, Ourselves," to be very informative and informational. Typically as White/American women, there are certain aspects of parenting our babies. There are many rituals and practices we take place in while "mothering" our babies. In every country, babies are fed multiple times throughout the day, all take naps and or sleep during certain times of the day, and all are (typically) tended to with love and care. Though the way we all go about these rituals/patterns in our parenting, are practiced differently globally. This may be because of our cultural practices, religious practices, family traditions, society's beliefs, community's belief, etc. It was very interesting to read about all of the different techniques and rituals used by mothers of many different cultural backgrounds all around the world. Some mothers rock their babies to sleep before placing them in a playpen or crib, while in different cultures mothers will simply place their baby in their crib and the baby will fall right to sleep. Often, mothers in multiple cultures have their babies sleep with them in the bed at night, reducing the risk of SIDS (Sudden Death Infant Syndrome). Many women and many cultures often feed their babies breast milk well into their "toddler" (and some much further) years. In some cultures, when their baby is crying in its crib, the mother will look at the baby and tell he/she that they are OK. Mothers in other cultures will immediately attend to their crying baby and try to calm him/her down. Overall, infant care is shaped by fads, science, traditions, and folk wisdom. Cross-cultural and evolutionary studies provide a useful prospective for parents and pediatricians as they sift through the alternatives. In conclusion, I learned from this article that there are many different ways about parenting "mothering" our babies, and no one way is superior to the next.
ReplyDeleteI've grown up an only child so I've never experienced what it takes to take care of a new born on a day to day basis. Other than what I see on TV or just basic common knowledge I don't know much about raising a child at all. I never really thought about the differences there could be in different places in the world but this article illustrates that just like most things, infant parenting practice vary widely from culture to culture. While Gusii mothers might would have picked me up and soothed me to make me stop whining in my crib (or had me sleep in the bed with them rather than a crib) my mother found out that the sound of her vacuuming made me go to sleep so she tape recorded a vacuum and played it by my crib and I would go right to sleep. I think that all practices are family and cultural specific and most parents will do what they feel is best for there baby and know what works best for their new born. It should be expected that just like all social aspects differ from one place to another, a mother raising a child to live in one culture/society will use different practices than another mother somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteBeing an early childhood major, this article made me think about what we have leanred through some classes as well as observing classrooms and in particular, the children's center at USC. I just finished observing the infant room and the way the caregivers interacted with the infants was based on what they know about the parent's upbringing with the chidlren as well as what they do to nurture the child the best they can. One thing I had not seen was swaddaling the infant, wrapping them up as if they were in a cocoon and then rocking them to sleep. This realted to the article when it mentioned the different culture aspect of getting a child to sleep whether it be rocking them, putting them straight in their crib, or even laying there with the baby. One last thing was about an infants cry. Cries can be ignored or focused on. I always thought (and was told) that in some cases it is better to let the baby cry it out so they can learn on their own. An alternative to that is caring for the child, telling them that you understand they are upset, you are there for recognition.
ReplyDeleteRaising an infant and going through the birthing practice is so different in every culture. For example. at the beginning of the article it talks about the women of Gusiiland. After watching a video of American mothers and newly born infants, they were shocked at how American mothers tend to their babies. They wondered why the mothers were ignoring the babies cries and why grandmothers do not soothe the baby. However, American mothers questioned how much time Gusiiland mothers are always with their babies. These mothers also did talk to the babies, so that made American mothers wonder if this will effect how smart the baby will be. One particular thing that stood out to me in this article was how mothers in other cultures make their babies sleep with them. I have discussed this topic with my Public Health class. Having babies sleep with in the same bed with you is very dangerous. There was an article earlier in January about a mother having her baby sleeping with her and she ended up suffocating the baby. It is so easy for a mother to roll over in the night and suffocate her infant. There are just so many different ways people tend to their infants and they vary from culture to culture.
ReplyDeleteThis article was a very interesting read! The difference between how two cultures raise children can be quite extreme...This article really articulated many of the differences. One that comes to mind is how some American women allowed their babies to cry and the Gussi women were confused/concerned that no one tended to the child. People's opinions on how to raise children always seems to bring much debate!
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very interesting, especially when it talked about the different ways different cultures raise their children. What one culture would see as normal when raising a child, another culture would see as ridiculous. For example, women of the Gusii culture were appalled when watching a video of American women ignoring the cries of their babies, but would found it normal to put the baby in the care of a six year old sibling. However, I think when it comes to raising children, no matter what culture you are in, it depends on the person raising the child. All parents have different views on the best ways to raise children and many of those methods result in healthy and happy children.
ReplyDeleteThis article affirmed for me things I have learned throughout my courses as as Early Childhood Education major. How to raise children, particularly infants, is a topic that is normally felt very strongly about by parents. They are likely to think that any different way than their own is wrong. This is why it is important to know and respect the various care methods of other cultures. Even within one culture, the "correct" way of raising a child is constantly changing. There is always new information being learned. For example, the debate between laying an infant to sleep on their stomach versus their back. Only a few years ago, parents were told to put children on their stomachs to sleep, for the purpose of reducing SIDS. Now, laying a child to sleep on their stomach is said to the thing they are told to absolutely not do, as it may cause SIDS.
ReplyDeleteThis article was not really informative for me. I am surrounded by women who are starting their families. All of these women have different views on how children should be raised. This article reaffirmed what I already knew. Everyone is never going to agree on the "correct" way to raise a baby. Despite this, most babies turn out fine, no matter the country, the parents, or the parenting style.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the different ways that people in different cultures raise their children. I can definitely see how one culture could see raising a child a certain way to be normal and another culture would see it as crazy. An example in the article that sums this up is the women of the Gusii culture versus American women. The women in the Gusii culture would never ignore the cries of their babies, but the American women would not find it normal to put their baby in the care of a young sibling. No matter what culture you are in, it depends on the person raising the child. There are many different ways to raise a child and many parents have different views. As long as these methods result in healthy and happy children, then it is okay.
ReplyDeleteI found this article interesting because I have never really thought about the differences in parenting in other cultures. Being a mother myself, I figured most mothers, whether being in a different culture or not, would share a motherly bond similar to mine. I didn't take in account the differences in cultures, such as how as americans, we are an individualistic culture, so it makes sense that we would put an emphasis on getting our children to be independent; where as in asian cultures, they are collectivistic so they tend to coddle their children more. I can also understand how in some cultures, where there tends to be a high rate of miscarriages, that the parents don't allow themselves to get as attached, as to prevent recurrent heartbreak. Being a mother, I really liked learning about the differences in raising children from culture-to-culture.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was quite interesting due to the differences other cultures feel about daily care for their child. Gushi women in Korea feels that middle class women shouldnt ignore the simple things about their child such as crying. To us, its not wrong to allow a child to cry for a minute just to do a normal task as to just changing a diaper. Everyone has their on opinion about how they should raise their child. Even in the states not everyone raises their child the same way someone else raises their child. In the end it thought i was kind of interesting to see Anthropologist take a study into how people care for their child in different cultures.
ReplyDeleteI think this article was very interesting. The differences in child care across cultures can be very extreme. An example of this mentioned in the article is how we tend to rush infants off of breast feeding, while infants in other parts of the world may breast feed for years. In the United States, we would find it taboo to have a child breast feeding for that long, but in other places that is completely acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI found the cultural differences in this article interesting. In my developmental psychology class, we talked about a few of these differences. In the United States, parents instill values of being independent to their children, so letting your child cry when there’s no apparent problem is normal for us. However, many other cultures are more focused on having close ties, so ignoring a crying child may be seen as a form of neglect. However, like other people have said, there is no correct way to raise a child because every child has different needs. It’s up to the parents or guardians to figure out what works for their child.
ReplyDeleteRaising babies in different ways in between different cultures is not really that big of a shock to me. We as Americans do not have to travel outside the country to see these differences. My experience with child care is in constant contact with the parents and how they believe their child should be treated. There are the parents who have a child before base their concerns on their previous experience with the earlier child and the new parents usually base their concerns on what they've read in books or seen on television. The one thing I truly believe that determines how a child will be raised is how the parents were raised by their parents. Even if two sets of parents are in the same exact culture, their childhood was still always different from the others. These little differences can have a dramatic affect on their child's outcome. There is no ultimately correct way to raise a child because we all have grown up into adults which I measure as a success by the parents.
ReplyDeleteI found this article to be very interestning. People across the world have many diffenent views on how to raise and tend to their children, but even people from the same region or culture can have diffenent views and statagies how to deal with children. I have heard that in this day and age (in US and other firstworld countries) there is no medical benifit or harm to breastfeeding or not breasting feeding a child. But I'm sure that there are many women in and outside the US that refuse to not breastfeed their child
ReplyDelete