UNIT 4 & 5

Unit 4

Current Trends in Canadian Parenthood

==Age of first pregnancy (delayed)== - in 2006 the fertility rate of women aged 30 - 34 surpassed the fertility rate of those aged 25 - 29 - fertility of women aged 40 - 44 has more than doubled from 1988 - 2008

women with a uni degree are more likely to delay parenthood

@@Causes & impact of infertility@@

risks of autism & birth defects increase with the age of the parents (both mother & father)

infertility is increasing - even among young people - large drop in sperm counts worldwide due to chemicals in the environment - general decrease of males worldwide

More people need ART (assisted reproductive tech) to conceive - OHIP covers 1 round of IVF for women under 43 - cost is 10k per cycle + cost of drugs (not covered by ohip) - has risk of multiples

Family Life Cycle Theory

the transition to parenthood is a normative event it requires

• acceptance of a new member
• changes in couples relationships
• redefines roles (caregiver, income provider)
• changes self image - couple becomes a part of the older gen - parents become grandparents siblings become aunts & uncles

^^Teen Pregnancy^^

Why was teen pregnancy the norm in the past?

• menarche started at 16 - ready to bear healthy offspring
• life expectancy was 35 - adaptive to have kids young
• infant mortality was 80% - adaptive to having many kids

==How is teen pregnancy supported by small scale societies?==

• collectivistic social norms - children supported by the community
• multi age playgroups - not enough people to sort by age - younger kids are socialized by older ones - older children get experience of taking care of kids and are ready to parent at a younger age
• allo parents - responsibility for children is shared - not parental responsibility alone - grandparents aunts & uncles, older siblings - many role models - increases skills & chance of survival

@@Why do modern developed societies discourage teen pregnancy?@@

• individualistic social norms
• menarche at 10 - 12 due to hormones in modern diet & increased body fat
• social norm for the modern family is dual income older parents
• teens need the support of parents to raise their child - not socially accepted in individualistic society
• cost of raising kid to 18 is over $250,000 (with daycare)

How did the US reduce teen pregnancy rates?

• education & access to contraception
• stabilizing economy
• media

%%Attachment in Parent-Child Relationships%%

How do hunter gatherers create strong attachment with their children?

• late weaning - children not weaned until 3-4 yrs old - children not reliant on breastmilk - can chew harder foods
• long birth intervals - mother cannot carry 2 kids when camp is shifting - births are spaced out approx every 4 years so each child can walk by itself - results in long & secure attachment to mom - children very emotionally secure

@@Benjamin Spock@@ - The common sense book on babies & childcare

• child centered perspective
• inspired by margaret mead & other anthropologists
• criticized as being indulgent & submissive to child’s every desire

Harry Harlow - The harlow experiment

• baby monkeys raised by inanimate surrogate
• cloth mother provided no food but provided comfort
• wire mother provided food but no comfort
• when both were present - infants only went to wire mom for food - clung to soft mom when not feeding
• infants with cloth mom were better adjusted & more able to confront stressful situations
• infants with wire mom were socially incompetent
• & incapable of autonomy

%%Mary Ainsworth%% - The strange situation

• stranger enters room - child experiences stress
• securely attached infants move toward parent for comfort + security
• insecurely attached infants avoid/resist parents

^^William Sears^^

• if children form strong emotional bond with parent during childhood it will lead to positive socio economic development

==Parenting styles==

@@Authoritarian@@ - restrictive & punitive places firm limits & controls on children - little verbal exchange - rules not explained

Authoritative - encourages independence but maintains limits & controls on children’s activities - nurturing & supportive - encourages verbal exchange - consistent discipline

%%Negligent%% - uninvolved more concerned about own issues

^^Indulgent^^ - highly involved but places few limits/restrictions on behaviour - have few expectations of children - tries to avoid confrontation - “the friend”

Play & Cognitive Development

The purpose of toys

• allows children to practice skills they will need as adults
• allows children to learn adult roles

Fantasy vs Reality Play

• children prefer reality based play 2/3rds of the time

Impact of gender specific toys on development

• masculine toys promote gross motor & spatial skills
• feminine toys promote fine motor skills, language development, and social skills

Benefits of unstructured, rough & tumble play

• unstructured rough play positively impacts brain development - more cell connections in parts of the brain responsible for decision making & problem solving - reacted with greater swiftness, flexibility/fluidity to new situations - increases risk detection, creativity, self esteem

Media & Cognitive Development

Overstimulation hypothesis

• prolonged exposure to rapid image change during critical periods of brain development will precondition the mind to expect high levels of stimulation - leads to inattention later in life

Building Block study

• interactive play promotes language development

Parent - Child signalling system

• higher pitched tone
• simplified grammar
• engaged, exaggerated enthusiasm

infants exposed to this at 11 months knew 2x as many words at age 2 than those who did not

The still face experiment

• infants are highly responsive to the emotions, reactivity and social interactions that they get from the people around them - after 3 mins of interaction with a non responsive expressionless mother - they become visually distressed

Vygotsky’s Social Learning Theory

• children learn through social interactions
• higher mental processes (problem solving) are co constructed during shared activities
• processes are internalized by child and become apart of cognitive development
• children use private speech (self talk) to guide their thinking until knowledge is internalized

Unit 5

Myths About Aging

Reasons for delayed retirement?

• Increased life expectancy - in canada avg is 80 yrs - active life expectancy is 72 yrs
• Declining birth rate - not enough people to support their retirement
• parenting adult children - parents give 7500 annually to young adult children

What prolongs life?

• calorie restrictive diets slow the aging process - eating 30% fewer cals than normal while getting vitamins/nutrients

Midlife Crisis

Marital satisfaction in mid to late adulthood

• during midlife couples may be more investing more time + energy into children & work than into their marriage
• satisfaction improves during empty nest stage to almost same levels as newlywed stage - fewer parenting & financial responsibilities - merging of gender roles
• marital satisfaction improves when women work outside the home
• married couples are healthier in old age - less risky lifestyle - more social support

Empty nest syndrome

• women lose role of homemaker
• need to redefine identity & create new life structure
• more common in 1960s when women’s roles were much more limited

Career Plateau

• when one is no longer advancing but moving towards a gradual decline in one’s career - professional athletes

Daniel Levinson

• describes midlife transition (40 - 45 yrs)
• involves assessing one’s life structures & refocusing priorities to live the dream or changing one’s life structures to redefine the dream

Normative vs Non normative events

• normative events are anticipated - anticipatory socialization prepares people to cope with these major life events - many social supports available during
• non events (day to day frustrations) are more stressful and can lead to a sense of stagnation in middle age

Maslow’s Hierarchy

• once individuals have met all the lower needs they seek self actualization - the desire to reach ones potential & fulfill oneself
• self actualizers are
  • accepting of self & others
  • few intimate relationships vs many superficial ones
  • more interested in world problems than own

John Kotre - types of generativity

• biological
• parental
• technical (share knowledge + skills)
• cultural - share traditions

Eldercare

Historical changes in eldercare

Eldercare in the ancient past

• “old man” fossil 50,000 yrs old - 30 - 40 yrs old at death
• evidence of a healed broken rib, severe arthritis of the hip, lower neck, back & shoulders
• missing most of his molar teeth

Small scale society approach to elder crisis

• neglect - little food or care
• unassisted suicide - encourage the elderly to commit suicide, go off to sea or battle
• assisted suicide - killing with victims cooperation &/or consent

Japanese approaches to aging

• large community of activity elders
• outdoor activity (hiking, farming) to maintain agility
• option of monastic life
• calorie restrictive diet - vegetarianism - eat until 80% full
• no retirement - majority of japanese people work up until their deaths
• work provides a sense of purpose
• ikigai - a reason for being / why you wake up in the morning
• technology - robots & robotic limbs improve mobility & prolong independent living for the elderly
• cross generational care- nursing homes where very young & old interact

Dependency crisis

As of 2017 - seniors over 65 outnumber youth under 15 - by 2056 there will only be 2.2 working age people for every dependent senior - in 1971 - there were 15 seniors for every 100 workers - in 2056 there will be 84 seniors for every 100 workers

Dependency ratio = the number of seniors to the number of working age adults (15-64)

The sandwich generation

• majority of care to frail elderly is provided by family members
• 21% of women are involved in providing eldercare of some kind
• 30% of women between 45 - 64 are combining care of seniors with childcare

Multi generational households

• more common today
• 3 gen households increasing in Canada’s urban centres
• in 2006 over 500,000 seniors lived with grandchildren & extended family

Disengagement theory

• older people prepare for death by withdrawing from society

Social death theory

• society & individuals mutually withdraw as we tend to avoid the dying and bereaved

Kubler - Ross stages of grief

• denial - attempt to solve
• anger - at self,family, caregivers
• bargaining - alter diagnosis
• depression - no hope of recovery
• acceptance - ready for life to end