Reply to What caused the shift in “quality parenting”?

Forum Index » General Parenting Discussion

Reply to "What caused the shift in “quality parenting”?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Nobody has mentioned the amazing brain research that shows 80% of a child’s brain is wired by age 3 and 90% by age 5. It suddenly seems very important to invest in “quality time” at an age when, in previous generations, kids were still assumed to be blobs. [/quote]

This is a really good point. It’s the main reason I outsource a lot and spend most of the time I’m at home engaged with my DD instead of cooking/cleaning. Once she hits elementary school, I’ll start to pick up more housework again.[/quote]

I think that's part of it -- the push to "maximize" your child's development, like they are a car you can fine-tune or something.  People assume that more is better, when previous generations of children managed to have normal brain development without their parents spending all day with them engaged in child-directed activities.  Kids participated a lot more in the work of the home, played mostly with siblings and cousins and neighbors, and their brains developed just fine.  I mean, it's great to know that babies and small children aren't just "blobs," but it's not a given that more direct engagement with a kid is actually "better," and it's not clear how you even define "better."  But that emphasis on individual self-improvement does seem of a piece with the modern zeitgeist, so that's probably part of it.  It fits with the fact that more parents have kids in organized "enrichment" activities at younger and younger ages.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics