Child Care and Culture: Lessons from Africa

by Robert A. Levine , Sarah Levine , Suzanne Dixon , Amy Richman , P. Herbert Leiderman , Constance H. Keefer , T. Berry Brazelton

• ISBN13: 9780521575461
• ISBN10: 052157546X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-09-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Child Care and Culture examines parenthood, infancy, and early childhood in an African community, revealing patterns unanticipated by current theories of child development and raising provocative questions about the concept of "normal" child care. Comparing the Gusii people of Kenya with the American white middle class, the authors show how divergent cultural priorities create differing conditions for early childhood development. Combining the perspectives of social anthropology, pediatrics, and developmental psychology, the authors demonstrate how child care customs can be responsive to varied socioeconomic, demographic, and cultural conditions without inflicting harm on children. This text will be of interest to researchers in child development and anthropology.

Table of Contents

Foreword

List of tables and figures

Preface

Part I. African Infancy: Frameworks For Understanding: 1. The comparative study of child care

2. Infant care in subsaharan Africa

Part II. Parenthood Among The Gusii of Kenya: 3. Gusii culture: A person-centered perspective

4. Gusii fertility, marriage, and family

5. Pregnancy and birth: Part III. Infant Care and Development in a Gusii Community: 6. Infant care: Cultural norms and interpersonal environment

7. Survival and health: The priorities of parents

8. Communication and social learning during infancy

9. Variations in infant interaction: Illustrative cases: Part IV. Interpretations: 10. Early child development in an African context: Comparative lessons

Appendices

References.