Parenting Culture Studies

"This important book explores and challenges current orthodoxies about parenting [...] it is important to give [this] work a proper hearing to deepen our understanding of what parenting culture is and how it can impact on the lives and decisions of the parents we support." Alex Bollen "The authors of this timely collection are in the forefront of analyses of contemporary parenting. The discourses and practices of parenting are rarely held up for sustained critique. Readers of this book will be challenged to question the politics and rationales of parenting cultures in this provocative and cogently argued book." - Deborah Lupton, University of Sydney, Australia "This terrific collection of essays probes and destroys many of the reigning orthodoxies that have turned 21st century parenting into an activity marked by cultural and individual anxiety and the over-involvement of experts and policymakers. The scholars contributing to this volume together make a profound contribution to the study of parenting culture." - Janet Golden, Rutgers University, USA "One of the areas of public policy in which science is most egregiously abused is that of early childhood development. In Parenting Culture Studies, Ellie Lee and colleagues at the University of Kent present a range of critical voices in relation to the influential concept of 'parental determinism'. This is the notion that poor parenting is the cause of most (if not all) ills of modern society, justifying comprehensive professional intervention starting from the moment of conception and continuing throughout childhood. In particular, contributors challenge the use of dubious neuroscientific claims (persuasively illustrated by colourful MRI scans) about the vulnerability of the infant brain to environmental influences to legitimise intensive early intervention programmes." Sense about Science

Why have the minutiae of how parents raise their children become routine sources of public debate and policy making? This book provides in-depth answers to these features drawing on a wide range of sources from sociology, history, anthropology and psychology, covering developments in both Europe and North America.      Why have the minutiae of how parents raise their children become routine sources of public debate and policy making? This book provides in-depth answers to these features drawing on a wide range of sources from sociology, history, anthropology and psychology, covering developments in both Europe and North America.