>
>Heather writes:
>
>But speaking generally, we know that consistent care-giving by one or
>two people is the physiological, psychological and emotional norm for human
>infants.
>
>
>~~ Do we know this?
Yes - we can be pretty sure of this. The work done in the past 20
years or so on neurological, cerebral and biochemical development is
consistent with this picture. Just on the cerebral side, infant
brains are not able to cope with a succession of or variety of
caregivers - that's our biology, and while we can still survive if we
'fight' it, and the effects of it can be mitigated if other good
things compensate for it, then or later, it just isn't the 'right'
way for homo sapiens!
>Maybe others with background in working in developing
>countries, and people with backgrounds in ancient civilizations can
>comment on
>whether this is a more recent scenario.
>
>Peace,
>Judy
But....I am not talking about scenarios or when they happened....the
physiological, psychological and emotional norm has not been the
*cultural* or *social* norm at all (or even many) points in history.
Far from it. There are many examples of child-rearing in the past
which have not followed the physiological, psychological and
emotional norm....to the detriment of those societies' well-being.
Many ancient (and more modern) civilisations separated mothers and
babies for social and cultural reasons, and shared their care among
many people. At the extreme, infants and small children were
institutionalised in many different ways - baby farms (19th century
Europe), 'orphanages' for unwanted children (20th and 21st century
Eastern Europe), military schools (Ancient Sparta), wet nursed by by
slaves (Ancient Egypt), sent to nunneries as infants (girls in
Merovingian Europe).
That's just a handful of examples from the top of my head.
You can find more about this in Parenting for a Peaceful World by Robin Grille
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Parenting-Peaceful-World-Robin-Grille/dp/1903275547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237652155&sr=8-1.
Grille takes the work of psycho-historians, anthropologists and
archeologists and describes how child-rearing practices have
reflected, and in their turn, shaped , society and culture.
Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc, tutor, UK
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