1. Child, Family, School, and Community Socialization and Support 6th ed.
Chapter Four Ecology of Parenting

2. Parenting
Parenting means implementing a series of decisions about the socialization of one’s children.

3. Definition of Parenting
What one does:
to enable children to become responsible, contributing members of society.
when children cry, are aggressive, lie, or do poorly in school.

4. Decisions about Parenting
Can be confusing because
there is little consensus as to what children should be like when they grow up.
there are different opinions on what parents should do to enable children to become grown up.
it is bidirectional and dynamic.

5. An Ecological Model of Human Development
Parenting is the means by which the family socializes children.

6. Macrosystem Influences on Parenting
Political Ideology
Culture
Socioeconomic Status
Ethnicity/Religion

7. Political Ideology Refers to theories pertaining to government
Influences parenting styles
children must be raised to function as citizens in society
Most traditional societies subscribe to an aristocratic political ideology

8. Political Ideology Autocracy Democracy
one person has unlimited power over others
Democracy
those ruled have power equal to those who rule: equality of rights

9. Civil Rights Act of 1964
Required that groups be treated equally in housing, education, and employment.

10. Culture Includes acquired by members of a society knowledge beliefs
art
morals
law
customs
traditions
acquired by members of a society

11. Culture
Encompasses
the way people have learned how to adapt to their environment
their assumptions about the way the world is
their beliefs about the way people should act

12. Culture and Parenting Goals
LeVine’s universal parenting goals:
ensuring physical health and survival
developing behavioral capacities for economic self-maintenance
instilling behavioral capacities for maximizing cultural values such as morality, prestige, and achievement
Cultures vary in the emphasis they place on parenting goals as well as in how they implement them.

13. Culture, Economics, and Children’s Behavior
Economics involves the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Does the way a society governs and supports itself to survive relate to the way its children are reared?

14. Whitings’ Socioeconomic Systems
Simple Societies
Roles clearly defined
Emphasis on cooperation to survive
Complex Societies
Occupational specialization
Class system
Centralized government
Competition emphasized

15. Categories of Children’s Social Behavior
Nurturance
Responsibility
Dependence
Dominance
Sociability
Intimacy
Authoritarianism
Aggressiveness

16. Whitings’ Conclusions
Nurturance
Responsibility
Success
Authority
Casual intimacy
are types of behavior that are differentially preferred by different cultures.
These values are transmitted to the children before the age of six.

17. respected occupations
Socioeconomic Status
Rank or position within society based on social and economic factors
High
high income
respected occupations
well educated
Middle
medium incomes
business workers
decent education
Low
low income
unskilled jobs
poorly educated

18. Parental Occupations and Children’s Behavior
Exosystem influence—the parent’s work.
The more complex the society:
the more roles exist
the more criteria upon which status is based
income
occupation
education
place of residence
the more complex the task of socialization

19. Middle vs. Lower Class Occupations
Lower Class Parents
Likely to judge their children’s behavior in terms of its immediate consequences and its external characteristics.
Middle Class Parents
More concerned with their children’s motives and the attitudes their behavior seem to express.

20. Ethnicity/Religion
Impact people’s values, perceptions, attitudes, and behavior.
Ethnicity
Identified by national origin, culture, language, race, or religion.
Religion
A unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things.

21. Group Values Categorized by Customs and Traditions of Ethnicity and Religion
Gemeinschaft Groups:
Communal
Cooperative
Intimate
Informal
Gesellschaft Groups:
Associative
Practical
Objective
Formal

22. Family Group Values: Gemeinschaft vs. Gesellschaft
Gemeinschaft Families:
Cooperative/interdependent (collectivism).
Emphasize interdependent relations, social responsibilities, and the well-being of the group.
Gesellschaft Families:
Competitive/independent (individualism).
Emphasize individual fulfillment and choice (standing out).

23. Discipline/Guidance of Children
Orientations
Cooperative/Interdependent
(Collective)
Competitive/Independent
(Individualistic)
Authority Roles
Communication
Displays of Emotion
Discipline/Guidance of Children
Skills Emphasis

24. Chronosystem Influences on Parenting
Significant forces isolating the family:
Occupational mobility
Breakdown of the neighborhood
Separation of residential from business areas
Consolidated school districts
Separate patterns of social life
Delegation of child care to outside institutions
Lack of a support system

25. Historical Trends Pre-eighteenth century
Children were considered significant only if they contributed to their elder’s welfare.
Eighteenth century (Colonial America)
Families were autocratic
Tradition and religion influenced child-rearing practices
Early childhood was viewed “as a negative period of life…” during which time parents had great influence over their children’s social outcomes.
The eighteenth century brought about the ideas of many different philosophers (advocated humanism).
John Locke—child’s mind as a blank slate (tabula rasa)
Jean Rousseau—children needed freedom to grow
Johann Pestalozzi—mother as the child’s first teacher

26. Nineteenth Century
G. Stanley Hall influenced many contemporary attitudes on child development and parenting (individual needs and welfare of the child).
Twentieth century
In 1914, child-rearing literature advocating rigid scheduling.
John B. Watson’s theory of behaviorism, which involved conditioning, became popular during the 1920’s, along with Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality development, which involved unconscious motives.

27. The 1940’s brought a change from rigid scheduling; Benjamin Spock advocating self-regulation of the child.
The 1950’s brought about an emphasis on children’s intellectual development. Jean Piaget’s theories on cognitive development (construction of knowledge) were of great importance to professionals working with children.
The trend in parenting attitudes in the United States over time has swung from parent-centeredness to child-centeredness to more of a balanced approach.

28. Family Dynamics
Parenting involves a continuous process of reciprocal interaction that affects both parents and children.
When individuals become parents, they rediscover some of their own experiences.
Characteristics of children that influence family dynamics and parenting styles
Age
Temperament
Gender
Special needs

29. Age As children get older, parent-child interactions change.
Infancy = feeding, changing, bathing, comforting
Preschool years = reasoning, instruction, isolation, withdrawal of privileges, reinforcement, rewards
Adolescence = discussion, collaborative problem solving, compromise

30. Temperament
The combination of innate characteristics that determine individuals’ sensitivity to various experiences and responsiveness to patterns of social interaction.
Activity level
Rhythmicity
Distractibility
Approach/withdrawal
Adaptability
Attention span and persistence
Intensity of reaction
Threshold of responsiveness
Quality of mood

31. Goodness of Fit
The accommodation of parenting styles to children’s temperaments (Thomas and Chess)
Easy children = adapt well to various styles of child rearing
Slow-to-warm-up = do best with a moderate amount of encouragement coupled with patience
Difficult children = need consistent, patient, and objective parents who can handle their instability

32. Family Dynamics cont. Gender Presence of a special need
Parents provide different socializing environments for boys and for girls, most likely due to their own socialization.
Play activities differ for boys and for girls.
Presence of a special need
Special needs and disabilities influence family dynamics and parenting styles.
Reactions vary enormously.

33. Family Characteristics
Family dynamics and parenting styles are influenced by:
size (number of siblings)
configuration (birth order, spacing, gender)
parents’ stage of life
marital quality
ability to cope with stress

34. Size and Configuration
Both parents and children are affected by the number of children in the family.
The more children there are
the more family members interact
the less likely parent-child interactions occur
The spacing and gender of the siblings influence parent-child interactions.
With each birth comes different temperaments.

35. Parents’ Life Stage, Marital Quality, and Ability to Cope with Stress
Parents go through six stages of change:
Image making
Nurturing
Authority
Interpretation
Interdependence
Departure
Stressors outside the family disrupt the parent-child relationship.

36. Parenting Styles Classified by dimensions of:
Acceptance/responsiveness
(warmth/sensitivity)
Give affection, provide encouragement, sensitive
Demandingness/control
(permissiveness/restrictiveness)
Set rules, monitor compliance

37. Microsystem Influences: Between Parent and Child
Attachment is an affectional tie that one person forms to another.
Self-regulation is bringing one’s emotions, thoughts, and/or behavior under control.
Prosocial behavior refers to actions that benefit another person.
Competence involves behavior that is socially responsible, independent, friendly, cooperative, dominant, achievement oriented and purposeful.
Achievement motivation is to approach challenging tasks with confidence of mastery.

38. Parenting Styles Three dimensions or degrees: Other dimensions:
Authoritative (democratic)
Authoritarian (parent-centered)
Permissive (child-centered)
Other dimensions:
Uninvolved (disengaged)
Parents never simply fit into one category, they are a mixture.

39. Disorganized/disoriented
Attachment
An outcome of sensitive, responsive caregiving.
“The Strange Situation” showed:
Secure
Insecure
Resistant
Avoidant
Disorganized/disoriented

40. H.O.M.E. Home Observation for the Measurement of
the Environment, contained 45 items in 6
areas:
Emotional and verbal responsiveness
Avoidance of restriction and punishment
Organization of the physical and temporal environment
Provision of appropriate play materials
Parental interaction with the child
Opportunities for variety in daily stimulation

41. Mesosystem Influences: Between Parent and Others
The impact of parental socialization techniques is enhanced by supportive links with other microsystems, such as the:
School
Families’ links to schools via parent education, parent-teacher conferences, and parental participation in school activities can have positive impacts on families.
Community
Considered to include social environments outside the family context of parenting; can be supportive to help parents cope with stress.

42. Parenting Practices Appropriate Developmental appropriateness Guidance
Direction
Demonstration
Supervision
Influence
Discipline
Punishment
Correction
Training
Inappropriate
Uninvolved Parenting
Aloofness
Distancing
“At Risk”
Child Maltreatment
Intentional harm
Endangerment
Unkindness…
Violence

43. Child Maltreatment: Abuse and Neglect
Abuse is maltreatment involving assaults:
physical
sexual
psychological
emotional
Neglect is maltreatment involving:
abandonment
lack of supervision or safety
improper feeding
inadequate medical/dental care
inappropriate dress
uncleanliness

44. Correlates and Consequences of Child Maltreatment
Risk factors include
ongoing (i.e. parental history of being abused)
transient (i.e. parent’s loss of job)
Resilient factors include
ongoing (i.e. child’s easy temperament)
transient (i.e. improvement in family finances)

45. The Family and Maltreatment
Some individuals, because they themselves have never received
love, support, guidance
do not know how to provide them to their own children.
Many abusers have a family history of being maltreated.
They feel:
unworthy, inadequate, unacceptable
resulting in low self-esteem.

46. The Child and Maltreatment
The physical and psychological characteristics of abused children include:
crying
hyperactivity
inability to give an acceptable response
Children who are more difficult than average to care for seem to be the victims of maltreatment
i.e. demanding, whiny, weepy, stubborn, resistive, sickly, negative.

47. The Community and Maltreatment
Environmental factors that correlate highly with abuse are:
poverty
unemployment
social isolation of families
transient lifestyles
lack of recognition of children’s rights
cultural acceptance of corporal punishment
limited help for families in crises