Parenting Culture Studies

Foreword
Contents
About the Authors
List of Figures
Part I: Parenting Culture
	Chapter 1: Introduction
		‘Parenting’: What’s New?
		Risk Culture and Risk Consciousness
			Risk as Untoward Possibility not Probability
			Risk as Free-Floating Anxiety
			Risk Consciousness and Morality
			Demoralization and Policing
		‘Parenting’ as a Social Construct
		A Note on the Structure of This Book
		References
	Chapter 2: Intensive Parenting and the Expansion of Parenting
		Introduction
		Intensive Parenting
		The ‘New Momism’ and the ‘Mommy Wars’, Total Motherhood, Concerted Cultivation
		Different Performances of the Cultural Script
			Gender
			Class
			Cultural Variation
		Parenting Out of Control?
		A Social History of ‘Childhood’
			Childhood in Crisis?
		The Inflation of the Parenting Role
			Risky Parents
			Intensive Parenting and Adult Identity
		Conclusions
		References
	Chapter 3: Experts and Parenting Culture
		Introduction
		The Rise of the Child Expert in the Nineteenth Century: The Search for Order
		Post World War II: Attaching Children to Their Mothers and the Need for ‘Child-Centredness’
		Parenting Experts in the Twenty-First Century: Targeting Parents to Learn Skills
			Warnings to Parents, ‘Support’ for Parenting, and the Problem of Shared Authority
			Living with Shared Authority: Parental Experience of Parenting Experts
		Conclusions
		References
	Chapter 4: The Politics of Parenting
		Introduction
		From ‘Implicit’ to ‘Explicit’ Family Policy
		From ‘the Family’ to ‘Families’: De-Moralized Family Policy
		The Increasing Certainty of Policy: ‘Research Shows’
		Parenting the Parents: ‘Breaking the Cycle’ and Parenting Support for All
			Sure Start
			Every Child Matters (ECM)
			The Family Nurse Partnership
			Parent Training for All
		Parenting Policy in Europe
		Politicized Parenting as a Reordering of Privacy
		Conclusions: The ‘Collateral Damage’ of Broader and Deeper Intervention
		References
	Chapter 5: Who Cares for Children? The Problem of Intergenerational Contact
		Introduction
		Megan’s Law
		The Vetting and Barring Scheme
		Risk, Regulation, and ‘No-Touch’ Policies
		The Paradox of No-Touch Policies
		Defensive Practice and the Erosion of Adult Solidarity
		Conclusions
		References
Part II: Case Studies in Parental Determinism
	Chapter 6: Policing Pregnancy: The Pregnant Woman Who Drinks
		Introduction
		The Imperative to Abstain
		Pregnancy, Alcohol, and the Expansion of Risk
		Science, Culture, and the Separation of the Woman from Her Pregnancy
		Policing, Self-Policing, and the Turn to ‘Other-Surveillance’
		Living with Risk
		Conclusion
		References
	Chapter 7: The Problem of ‘Attachment’: The ‘Detached’ Parent
		Introduction: The Emergence of Problematic Attachment
		Attachment Theory and Its Expansions
			The Bonding Mystique
			‘Attachment’ in Contemporary Parenting Culture
			Advocating for ‘Attachment Parenting’
		Accounting for Attachment
			Evolutionary Evidence
			Scientific Evidence
		Attachment in Policy
		Tribalization
		Assessing the Advocacy
			Problematizing ‘Evolutionary’ Parenting
			Problematizing ‘Science’
			Unrealistic Attachments
			Push-back?
		Conclusions
		Note
		References
	Chapter 8: Babies’ Brains and Parenting Policy: The Insensitive Mother
		Introduction
		Optimizing and Warning
		Brains at Risk
		Brain Claims and Policy
		Accounting for the Appetite for Brain Claims
		The Critique of Brain Claims
			Scientism Not Science
			Individualizing Social Problems
			Writing Children Off
		Building a Healthy Brain
		Conclusion: Reinforcing Intensive Parenting
		References
	Chapter 9: Intensive Fatherhood? The  (Un)involved Dad
		Introduction: New Fatherhood?
		Ambiguous Authority
		Fragmenting Fatherhood: Breadwinning and the New Dad
		Work-Life Balance: Gender Equality or Intensive Fathering?
		Fostering the New Father in Policy
			Dad-Proofing and Avoiding Exclusion
			The New Model Father
			Men’s Experiences: Does Policy Miss the Point?
		Resisting Intensive Fathering?
		New Directions
		Conclusions
		References
	Chapter 10: The Double Bind of Parenting Culture: Helicopter Parents and Cotton Wool Kids
		Introduction
		Cotton Wool Kids
		Helicopter Parents
		Resistance to Intensive Parenting: Navigating the Contradictions
		The Diseasing of Childhood
		Ambivalent Adulthood and Institutional ‘Coddling’
		Conclusion: The Double Bind of Parenting Culture
		Note
		References
Part III: Parenting and the Pandemic
	Chapter 11: ‘Parenting’ After Covid-19: When the Quantity of ‘Quality Time’ Becomes Untenable
		Introduction
		Covid and the UK Policy Response
		Parenting and Lockdown
		Familiar Challenges Exacerbated
			The Privatization of the Parenting Role: Educational Needs
			The Expansion of the Parenting Role: Accounting for New Risks
			Intensive Parenting Ideals and ‘Falling Short’: Class and Gender
		Pushing Back Against Intensive Parenting?
		Conclusions
		Note
		References
	Chapter 12: From Safeguarding to Childism? Covid-19 and the School Closures Debate
		Introduction
		School Closures: Three Narratives
			Narrative 1: Competing Risks
			Narrative 2: Childism and Discrimination
			Narrative 3: The Educational Impact
		Conclusions
		References
	Chapter 13: Pregnancy and Vaccination: The Precautionary Principle and Parenting Culture in Covid Times
		Introduction
		Intensive Motherhood and Vaccine Hesitancy
		Vaccination, Pregnancy, and Precautionary Thinking
			Pertussis and Influenza
			Covid-19 Vaccination
		Framing Precaution in the UK News Media
			Policy Changes: Evidence, Vaccine Safety, and Covid Risk
			Covid Risks and Typifying Stories
			Vaccine Hesitancy and Mixed Messages
		Conclusions
		References
	Chapter 14: Conclusion
		The Social History of Parental Determinism
		Comparative Parenting Culture Studies
		The Problem of Generations
		References
Correction to: Parenting Culture Studies
	Correction to:
Appendix: Data Set for Media Analysis (Chapter 13)
Index