I had been following this thread, but not taking close note of those
responding and where they are.  Then a discussion today with a new
acquaintance on an unrelated subject got me to thinking.  Is this
primarily a US or US/European attitude?  Our society seems to value
independence and individualism more than many other cultures.  Many
other cultures value co-operation and group-centeredness over
self-centeredness.  I think many USers identify group identity,
collective needs etc as the same as communism and therefore to be
avoided at all costs.  This spills over into attitudes about
infants.  We don't want them to become "overdependent" on us.  We
push them to be independent.  We expect them to adopt adult needs,
attitudes and behaviors as soon as possible.
It would be necessary to compare attitudes a couple generations back
to see if there is a true difference since we have "exported" so
many of our ideas (good and/or bad) that the lines are becoming less
and less distinct.
Do the LNs from outside the US notice this kind of difference or am
I way off base here?
Winnie

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