Every cultural group has their own values and traditions that they apply to infant caretaking. Americans may sometimes find these customs odd and couldn't imagine implementing them in their own lives (like genital mutilation as mentioned in earlier posts). However, Americans aren't completely closed minded when raising their children. After picking and choosing the aspects of parenting methods seen in other parts of the world, America has seen a growing popularity in these infant caretaking customs.
One example of international influence on American parenting is babywearing. The term may not be familiar, but it isn’t uncommon to see these mothers carrying their infants in a sling around their body. Babywearing has only recently become popular in America, yet it has been a prominent part of childrearing across the world for centuries.
• In China, mothers have been wearing their babies for thousands of years, including in the traditional Mei Tai carrier hold.
• Native Americans on United States soil wore their babies during the busy day of cooking, cleaning, preparing animal skins, and more.
• In many nations, babywearing is still a vital practice of parenting, part of cultures dating back centuries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8Wd-Rj17jg
Another everyday international method being used by American parents is Lamaze birthing. Most likely if a woman were to go into labor, even somebody not trained in the Lamaze method would tell the expecting mother to breath in and out. “The method isn’t quite this simple, but includes childbirth education classes, relaxation, breathing techniques and continuous emotional support from the father and a specially trained nurse”. The French Dr. Fernand Lamaze was credited after formalizing the method, but the first people to use these techniques were the Soviets. It wasn’t until the 1960s that this method was embraced by parents across the nation.
Even things as common as name choice for babies in America are showing an increase in foreign origins. Parents are moving away from traditional Christian names like John and Mary to more names like the Irish Aiden (the most popular name given to boys in 2009 in America) or the Persian Jasmine (ranked #100 in most popular names given to American girls in 2009).
Some interesting questions to think about…
1. How often do you notice mothers babywearing in a given week?
2. What are the benefits of babywearing?
3. Do you know somebody who has practiced Lamaze? How can this method ease the birthing process?
4. Which names would you be likely to name your children? Do they have a traditional English/Latin/Christian origin, or do they fall outside this realm?
5. Common names from the 1950s are predicted to soon become popular again, do you think names like Gary and Deborah will be making a comeback?
References:
http://www.baby2see.com/names/decades_trends.html
http://www.heavenlyhold.com/pages/Babywearing101.htm
http://www.lamaze.org/WhoWeAre/History/tabid/104/Default.aspx
http://www.babynames.com/Names/Popular/
Post provided by Karl Daruwala, Annika Ecklund, Carolyn Kaufman, Elissa May, Sally Pitcher, and Stephanie Vassillion.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
International Adoption: Problematic or Beneficial?
The Possible Risks of International Adoptions
One major component of studying families from a global perspective is the issue of international adoptions, and the decision adoptive parents have to make about assimilating their adopted child into their own culture, or preserving the child’s original culture. This can be a difficult choice for parents because it could possibly lead to a loss of cultural identity for the child in the future. Some parents are eager to assimilate their child into their own culture, while others are looking to find the balance between setting the child apart from the family culture and diminishing the original culture of the child. (Vonk).
Many advocates of adoption agencies prefer to place children with families of the same race for the sake of the child’s racial and cultural identity. Some organizations, such as the National Association of Black Social Workers opposed placing African children in homes of white American families. Their opposition stems from their belief that this mixture of races within the family will cause the child to have racial identity confusion or encounter racism or difficulty forming an ethnic identity. Many adoption agencies based in Africa have fear that the adoption of African children by American families will cause the child to lose the cultural and traditional values of their country of origin and take on an Americanized way of living (Roby).
Along with affecting their cultural identity, international adoption and the assimilation into a new culture influences the identity the child forms as a member of their new adoptive family. Many children have difficulty identifying or attaching to parents who appear and act differently than they do. In one study, almost one third of the children examined showed feelings of wanting to be white at a young age, and about one half of the children expressed the desire to have been born into their adoptive family. This may be due to the fact that they feel distant from their parents and other siblings because of their appearance, and have difficulty communicating their concern with their parents because they feel misunderstood or alone (Juffer).
The question to think about is : Are these challenges of preserving the child’s cultural identity while teaching him the skills he will need to thrive in an American community significant enough that possible adoptive parents should not adopt a child if he or she is of another race?
What services would be appropriate to carefully ease adopted children into a new culture without confusing the child about his or her ethnic or racial identity? Do you think these services are necessary for every adopted child?
What do you think adoptive families could do in order to make the child feel as much of a member of the family as a biological child?
Do you agree that interracial adoptions cause more risks for the child’s identity than same race adoptions? Are there equal risks?
Do you think the birth families should have a say in whether or not the adoptive family preserves the adopted child’s culture in the future?
Juffer, Femmie and Wendie Tieman. (2009) Being adopted: Internationally adopted children’s interests and feelings. International Social Work 52(5), 635-647. http://isw.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/52
/5/635.
M Elizabeth Vonk, Peggy J Simms, & Larry Nackerud. (1999). Political and personal aspects of intercountry adoption of Chinese children in the United States. Families in Society, 80(5), 496-505. Retrieved March 17, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 44580377).
Roby, Jini L., Shaw, Stacey A. (2006) The African Orphan Crisis and International Adoption. Social Work 51(3), 199-210. http://lesley.ezproxy.blackboard.com/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com /login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=22702483&site=ehost-live
This post was presented by: Annika Ecklund, Carolyn Kaufman, Sally Pitcher, Stephanie Vassillion, Karl Daruwala, Elissa May
One major component of studying families from a global perspective is the issue of international adoptions, and the decision adoptive parents have to make about assimilating their adopted child into their own culture, or preserving the child’s original culture. This can be a difficult choice for parents because it could possibly lead to a loss of cultural identity for the child in the future. Some parents are eager to assimilate their child into their own culture, while others are looking to find the balance between setting the child apart from the family culture and diminishing the original culture of the child. (Vonk).
Many advocates of adoption agencies prefer to place children with families of the same race for the sake of the child’s racial and cultural identity. Some organizations, such as the National Association of Black Social Workers opposed placing African children in homes of white American families. Their opposition stems from their belief that this mixture of races within the family will cause the child to have racial identity confusion or encounter racism or difficulty forming an ethnic identity. Many adoption agencies based in Africa have fear that the adoption of African children by American families will cause the child to lose the cultural and traditional values of their country of origin and take on an Americanized way of living (Roby).
Along with affecting their cultural identity, international adoption and the assimilation into a new culture influences the identity the child forms as a member of their new adoptive family. Many children have difficulty identifying or attaching to parents who appear and act differently than they do. In one study, almost one third of the children examined showed feelings of wanting to be white at a young age, and about one half of the children expressed the desire to have been born into their adoptive family. This may be due to the fact that they feel distant from their parents and other siblings because of their appearance, and have difficulty communicating their concern with their parents because they feel misunderstood or alone (Juffer).
The question to think about is : Are these challenges of preserving the child’s cultural identity while teaching him the skills he will need to thrive in an American community significant enough that possible adoptive parents should not adopt a child if he or she is of another race?
What services would be appropriate to carefully ease adopted children into a new culture without confusing the child about his or her ethnic or racial identity? Do you think these services are necessary for every adopted child?
What do you think adoptive families could do in order to make the child feel as much of a member of the family as a biological child?
Do you agree that interracial adoptions cause more risks for the child’s identity than same race adoptions? Are there equal risks?
Do you think the birth families should have a say in whether or not the adoptive family preserves the adopted child’s culture in the future?
Juffer, Femmie and Wendie Tieman. (2009) Being adopted: Internationally adopted children’s interests and feelings. International Social Work 52(5), 635-647. http://isw.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/52
/5/635.
M Elizabeth Vonk, Peggy J Simms, & Larry Nackerud. (1999). Political and personal aspects of intercountry adoption of Chinese children in the United States. Families in Society, 80(5), 496-505. Retrieved March 17, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 44580377).
Roby, Jini L., Shaw, Stacey A. (2006) The African Orphan Crisis and International Adoption. Social Work 51(3), 199-210. http://lesley.ezproxy.blackboard.com/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com /login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=22702483&site=ehost-live
This post was presented by: Annika Ecklund, Carolyn Kaufman, Sally Pitcher, Stephanie Vassillion, Karl Daruwala, Elissa May
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