Even Raising Children Can Be ResearchedA lot of parents are buying books about activity material, which is "developmentally appropriate for children”. That is, books on what to do with your child after you've actually had it. The most popular is The New Beyond Peek-A-Boo And Pat-A-Cake, by Munger and Bowdon. But if you want to know which cognitive and motor skills your child is developing at various stages, then the Your Child At Play series is the best. The flip side of this kind of book canada online store consists of books that have magic in the title, such as Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce. "This book," says the cover, "will help you rediscover nature's plan for our children." As Thelma McCormack book canada online store, a York University sociologist recently appointed director of a pending graduate program in women's studies, says, "Now that we are only having two children instead of a large family, the pressure is really on to get it right." "And we sell a lot of books about individual problem-solving situations," adds Elleker. What is the most common parental problem these days? "Sleep deprivation. Books that help you solve your child's sleep problems have totally eclipsed books about eating and toilet-training." Like Bettelheim, McCormack isn't surprised by the surge in popularity of this kind of literature. "Parents have always taken parenting seriously. But some of this literature is reflecting a new understanding of the child as if we can control his development." If we're not careful we'll analyze ourselves to death and become anxiety-ridden parents who are overburdened with guilt and who judge every move our children make. Bettelheim is reassuring. He has great faith in our own inner resources and suggests that we only select the literature as it pertains to our own needs. It may be dogmatic in theory, but we must not be dogmatic in practice. What kind of parents will we be if we follow the rules set out in a text - and someone else's rules at that? In terms of disciplining our children we can't do everything by the book. We should adapt the information in the text to our own experiences, says Bettelheim. Then take the time to understand a difficult and perplexing parenting situation in terms of our own feelings as a child and a clear understanding of ourselves as parents. "Raising children is a creative endeavor," he writes, "an art, rather than a science." Bettelheim is comforting. He reminds us that our own instincts and feelings are valid and reliable. And honest. |