Interviewing the Embodiment of Political Evil

Parenting for Cognitive Development: Advice to Parents Carla Vilhena and António Gomes Ferreira Abstract The aim of this chapter is to explore how the ‘psy’ discourses regarding cognitive development in children translate into childrearing advice and contribute to producing a dominant discourse that promotes parenting for cognitive development as a normative parenting behaviour. Drawing on a critical analysis of texts about cognitive development of the preschool child, published between 1994 and 2007 in the two major Portuguese parenting magazines, we argue that childrearing advice contributes to the dissemination of a particular model of childrearing - parenting for cognitive development. Informed by ‘psy’ discourses, parenting magazines emphasize the importance of the early years for the propagation of cognitive development. As such, the myth of the first three years emerges, and is extended to the pre-natal phase, stressing the importance of parental stimulation for the maximization of children’s cognitive potential. As our data shows, parents are transformed by magazine writers into pedagogues, and almost every daily task is considered as an educational opportunity. Our results also show that children’s participation in extracurricular activities, one of the strategies used by middle-class parents in order to maximize their children’s abilities, is becoming an increasingly controversial issue. In our opinion, this may represent the emergence of alternative discourses of childrearing, more child-centred, and characterised by longer periods of leisure time and child-initiated play. Key Words: Parenting, cognitive development, preschool child, childrearing advice, parenting magazines, myth of the three first years, parenting for cognitive development, intensive parenthood. ***** 1. Introduction During recent decades, parental influence on children’s cognitive development has gained a prominent place in public discourses regarding childhood. Since the 1960s the growing concern over disadvantaged children and the perception of education of young children as a powerful tool in the war against poverty and academic failure has run parallel to the production of a large body of research on children’s development that emphasised both the importance of the early years in shaping the human potential and the effects of home environment on the intellectual development of children.1 With the dissemination and popularisation of psychological and neuropsychological theories stressing the influence of the environment on the cognitive development of the child, early experiences began to be seen as of crucial

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Parenting for Cognitive Development

__________________________________________________________________ importance, and the role that parents might play in the development of the intellectual potential of their children was given increasing importance. Parents were thus conceived of as being largely responsible for the cognitive development of their children, and expert advice emphasised that the level of intellectual development was related to the quantity and quality of the stimuli that they provided to their offspring on a daily basis.2 One of the consequences of this vision of parents as responsible for their children’s cognitive development was the attribution of a new role to them, parents as teachers or pedagogues, along with the emergence of what Schaub defined as parenting for cognitive development, namely ‘the continual, purposeful engagement by parents with young children in cognitively based activities’.3 Moreover, as several studies have shown, parental engagement with children in cognitive activities has risen significantly over the past 50 years, leading to a growing ‘curricularization’ of home life, suggesting that parenting for cognitive development has become a normative parenting behaviour in the late 20th century, and an important dimension of the dominant ideology of parenthood.4 The aim of this chapter is to explore how the ‘psy’ discourse regarding children’s cognitive development is translated into childrearing advice, and contributes to producing a dominant discourse that promotes parenting for cognitive development as a normative parenting behaviour. The data is drawn from the two major Portuguese parenting magazines published at the turn of the 21st century (1994-2007). Parenting magazines were chosen because they are a popular source of parenting advice.5 The magazines used in this study were selected based on the catalogue of the ‘Hemetoreca Municipal de Lisboa’, a public library specialising in newspapers and magazines. First we identified all the parenting magazines published in Portugal in the 1990s, and opted to choose the two with the earliest dates of publication, PAIS&Filhos (1991-...) and Crescer (1994-...), since that enabled us to cover a larger time span. Articles were searched from May 1994, when the first issue of Crescer was published, until December 2007. Six issues per year of each magazine were selected, on alternate months each year, in order to include the discussion of timely issues such as the return to school and holidays. The analysis of the issues selected yielded 200 texts (PAIS&Filhos, n=84; Crescer, n=116) with the cognitive development of the child as a central topic. The data was transcribed and all the magazine articles were read and reread, and the main themes identified. 2. Preparing the Successful Child The childrearing advice provided in parenting magazines is accompanied by information about child development. Accordingly, the analysis revealed two main themes: information about children’s cognitive development and parenting for

Carla Vilhena & António Gomes Ferreira

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__________________________________________________________________ cognitive development, i.e., the description of parental behaviours considered by magazine authors as an adequate stimulus for cognitive development. 2.1. Information about Children’s Cognitive Development Based on the belief that to foster children’s development and provide developmentally appropriate care parents should gain knowledge of the developmental milestones, one aim of the magazine editors and authors was to assist parents in understanding their children’s cognitive development. As one author writes: ‘Intelligence involves multiple capacities that appear by stages. By knowing this progression you will be able to help your child to develop his/her best qualities’.6 Presentations of ‘normal’ developmental milestones in a chronological format, sometimes accompanied by pictures, were rife in the magazines analysed. In addition, there was an emphasis on the importance of early years in subsequent cognitive development. Stemming from cognitive developmental psychology and from new infant brain research, the dissemination of information about children’s cognitive development serves two main purposes: first, to highlight the importance of the early years for subsequent cognitive development and, secondly, to mould parenting behaviour, through the reinforcement of parents’ anxieties regarding their children’s normality. Magazine contributors stress the importance of the early years for cognitive development, especially from birth to three years old, playing an important role in disseminating what Bruer calls the myth of the three first years, i.e., the identification of that age as the critical period for cognitive development. 7 The findings of scientific studies showing the importance of brain development during this period are presented, along with references to the long-lasting and permanent effects of early learning experiences. The dissemination of the myth of the three first years can be seen in the following example: The findings of research from the Faculty of Medicine at Stanford University, recently published in Nature Neuroscience, have shown that early learning experiences permanently change the shape of brain structure. According to the researchers this study highlights the importance of investing in children’s experiences. Early learning can have lasting effects on the architecture of the brain.8 The view that parents play a vital role in their children’s cognitive development is continually reinforced throughout the vast majority of the texts analysed, along with the idea that cognitive development can be maximized. The authors stress the importance of parental stimulation emphasising that cognitive development does not occur on its own, but rather that it depends on the quality and quantity of the

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__________________________________________________________________ input received. Although the overall majority of the texts focused on the cognitive development of babies and young children, interestingly there were a few texts that centred on the cognitive development of the foetus, such as the one below: Although there are still many mysteries to unravel, there has been a wealth of findings about the life of an unborn baby. Consequently, doctors know more about unborn babies, and their parents feel closer to them. Pregnant women ceased to be seen as passive ‘wrappers’ of the foetus growing inside of them. Nowadays, mothers are active agents in the baby’s formation and wellbeing, and to their list of responsibilities they have to add a positive role in the development of a smarter, more creative and emotionally-balanced baby. Many things happen during the nine months of pregnancy, and each thing is likely to influence the development of the baby’s cognitive abilities and personality.9 This passage shows how the results from the new infant brain research are translated in parenting magazines, and used as an argument to persuade parents to adhere to parenting for cognitive development. It can also be seen as a sign of the extension of the myth of the first three years to the prenatal phase. In addition to highlighting parental responsibility and encouraging them to take a proactive role in the construction of their babies' mind, magazine writers also promise to help with the task of maximizing children’s cognitive potential. This help comes in the form of childrearing advice that will be presented and discussed in the next section. 2.2. Parenting for Cognitive Development Like the edutainment magazines for preschool children analysed by Buckingham and Scanlon, Portuguese parenting magazines position the parent as a pedagogue, who should provide a cognitively stimulating environment for their children, and engage themselves in developmentally appropriate educational practices. 10 For example, in an article titled Learning to count in the kitchen, we can clearly see how, through the utilisation of a pedagogical discourse, the parents is positioned as a pedagogue, and how everyday activities, like cooking, are constructed as educational opportunities: Play with him, sorting and classifying things. Games like this help to develop logic and language. (...) Keep the game as simple as possible, varying the items and the way to deal with them. Sometimes counting them, at others comparing through


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__________________________________________________________________ touch, or sorting according to shape, size or colour. This will help you to introduce new ideas and help kids to familiarise themselves with numbers.11 Instructions about the activities that parents should carry out with their children (e.g. telling a story, doing arts and crafts), the experiences that children should have access to in order to achieve their full cognitive potential (e.g. visiting museums, libraries), the educational materials that they should buy are rife, and their pedagogical goals are made explicit. Furthermore, their educational benefits are highlighted and defined in terms of developing skills that can be used at a later stage, such as the ability to solve problems. Using this kind of rationale, magazine writers are, as previously noted, stressing the role of parents in the promotion of their children’s cognitive development and, simultaneously, providing advice to guarantee the construction of a successful child, frequently expressed in imperative terms. These kind of instructions provide parents with an educational programme and, moreover, as Buckingham and Scanlon have suggested, a script for interacting with their children, something which has favoured the dissemination of the notion parenting for cognitive development. 12 Children’s engagement in extracurricular activities is one of the strategies used by parents, particularly middle-class ones, to stimulate their children’s cognitive and personal abilities.13 Although the vast majority of magazine writers have stressed the positive benefits of this practice, children’s participation in extracurricular activities is becoming an increasingly controversial issue. Critics have pointed out the harmful effects of over-scheduling, and are starting to emphasise the importance of free-initiated play in children’s development: Do not schedule a quantity of activities that will overwhelm the child (...) children need space for personal development, something they can invest in on their own. Playing football in the backyard, playing with dolls, or playing cops and robbers often fills that void.14 In our opinion, this may represent the emergence of a new, alternative discourse for childrearing, more child-centred one, characterised by longer periods of leisure time and child-initiated play. However, we should point out that the parenting magazines also display a contradictory discourse with regard to this specific dimension of parenting for cognitive development. A magazine article titled Extracurricular activities: Entertained... But not too tired illustrates this point clearly. The image of the overly-scheduled, stressed child due to his/her parent’s obsession about his/her future career prospects is accompanied by an emphasis in the importance of leisure time, but all of this preceded by a description

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__________________________________________________________________ of 30 extracurricular activities: Parents tend to think that in a competitive world, children need all the available help to succeed. This usually means engaging in different extracurricular activities in order to develop different skills and make better choices in the future. (...) when we engage our children in activities like music, sports or arts we are enhancing their reflective qualities but, on the other hand, we may be depriving them of the opportunity to manage their free time effectively. Children, who are used to having their activities structured by others, do not seem to know what to do with their leisure time. Despite the good intentions, by giving children additional activities in an attempt to prevent them from becoming bored, parents may be inhibiting a type of effort or posture that ultimately could help children discover who they are. All children need the time to stop and look around.15 Although the analysis of parents’ experience is beyond the scope of this chapter, our findings raise questions about the requisites of adequate parenting and, more specifically, regarding how the dissemination of parenting for cognitive development through parenting magazines can contribute to generating feelings of inadequacy in readers. Parents who do not provide the adequate cognitive stimulation and the educational opportunities listed in the magazines are deemed unable to foster their children’s cognitive development and, therefore, responsible for their lack of cognitive skills. Moreover, the existence of contradictory messages about appropriate parenting, as the example presented above, can also contribute, as shown by previous studies, to undermining parental confidence in their own skills. 16 We should also note that many of the activities and educational materials described in parenting magazines require parents to invest a significant amount of time and material resources. As other authors have shown this suggests that economic resources play an important role in parents’ ability to engage in parenting for cognitive development. 3. Conclusion This chapter has explored the role of parenting magazines in the dissemination of the ‘psy’ discourse about children’s cognitive development. Our study suggests that childrearing advice contributes to the dissemination of parenting for cognitive development.17 According to this model, parents are conceived of as pedagogues,


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__________________________________________________________________ responsible for maximising their children's chances of success, through early and continuous stimulation of their cognitive skills. We should also note that the extent to which parents should stimulate their child is becoming a controversial issue. This may be symptomatic of the emergence of alternative discourses of childrearing, proposing longer periods of leisure time and child-initiated play.

Notes 1

Christina Hardyment, Dream Babies: Child Care from John Locke to Gina Ford (London: Frances Lincoln, 2008); Majia Holmer Nadesan, ‘Engineering the Entrepreneurial Infant: Brain Science, Infant Development Toys, and Governmentality’, Cultural Studies 16, no. 3 (2002): 401-432; Nikolas Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self (London: Free Association Books, 1999). 2 David Buckingham and Margaret Scanlon, ‘Parental Pedagogies: An Analysis of British ‘Edutainment’ Magazines for Young Children’, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 1, no. 3 (2001): 281-299; Glenda Wall, ‘Mothers’ Experiences with Intensive Parenting and Brain Development Discourse’, Women’s Studies International Forum 33 (2010): 253-263; David Wastell and Sue White, ‘Blinded by Neuroscience: Social Policy, the Family and the Infant Brain’, Family, Relationships and Societies 1, no. 3 (2012): 397-414; Linda Quirke, ‘Keeping your Minds Sharp: Children’s Cognitive Stimulation and the Rise of Parenting Magazines’ 1959-2003’, CRSA/RCSA 43, no. 4 (2006): 387-406. 3 Buckingham and Scanlon, ‘Parental Pedagogies’; Maryellen Schaub, ‘Parenting for Cognitive Development from 1950 to 2000: The Institutionalization of Mass Education and the Social Construction of Parenting in the United States’, Sociology of Education 83, no. 1 (2010): 46-66. 4 Buckingham and Scanlon, ‘Parental Pedagogies’; Juan Gómez Espino, ‘Two Sides of Intensive Parenting: Present and Future Dimensions in Contemporary Relations Between Parents and Children in Spain’, Childhood 20, no. 1 (2012): 2236; Sharon Hays, The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996); Annette Lareau, Unequal Childhoods (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003); Nadesan, ‘Engineering the Entrepreneurial Infant’; Rose, Governing the Soul; Schaub, ‘Parenting for Cognitive Development from 1950 to 2000’; Wall, ‘Mothers’ Experiences with Intensive Parenting’; Judith Warner, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. (New York: Riverhead Books, 2005). 5 Sue Nichols, et al., ‘Parents Resourcing Children’s Early Development and Learning’, Early Years 29, no. 2 (2009): 147-161; Quirke, ‘Keeping your Minds Sharp’; Christopher Walker, ‘Seeking Information: A Study of the Use and

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__________________________________________________________________ Understanding of Information by Parents of the Young Children’, Journal of Information Literacy 3, no. 2 (2009): 53-63. 6 ‘As Maravilhosas Mentes dos Bebés’, Crescer, December 1997, 24. 7 John Bruer, The Myth of the First Three Years. (New York: The Free Press, 1999). 8 ‘A Importância dos Primeiros Brinquedos’, PAIS&Filhos, February 2005, 59. 9 Ana Esteves, ‘Bebés Inteligentes’, PAIS&Filhos, January 2000, 16. 10 Buckingham and Scanlon, ‘Parental Pedagogies’. 11 Lesley Clark, ‘Aprender a Contar, na Cozinha!’, PAIS&Filhos, December 1995, 35. 12 Buckingham and Scanlon, ‘Parental Pedagogies’. 13 Lareau, Unequal Childhoods. 14 ‘Regresso à Rotina’, Crescer, September 1996, 46. 15 ‘Actividades Extra-Escolares: Divertido... Mas Não Demasiado Cansado’, September 1994, 33. 16 Hays, The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood; Warner, Perfect Madness. 16 Schaub, ‘Parenting for Cognitive Development from 1950 to 2000’.

Bibliography ‘A Importância dos Primeiros Brinquedos’. PAIS&Filhos, February 2005. ‘As Maravilhosas Mentes dos Bebés’. Crescer, December 1997. ‘Actividades Extra-Escolares: Divertido... Mas Não Demasiado Cansado’, PAIS&Filhos, September 1994. Bruer, John. The Myth of the First Three Years. New York: The Free Press, 1999. Buckingham, David and Scanlon, Margaret. ‘Parental Pedagogies: An Analysis of British ‘Edutainment’ Magazines for Young Children’. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 1 no. 3 (2001): 281-99. Clark, Lesley. ‘Aprender a Contar, na Cozinha!’ PAIS&Filhos, December 1995. Espino, Juan Gómez. ‘Two Sides of Intensive Parenting: Present and Future Dimensions in Contemporary Relations between Parents and Children in Spain’. Childhood, 20 no. 1 (2012): 22-36. Esteves, Ana. ‘Bebés Inteligentes’. PAIS&Filhos, January 2000.


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Hardyment, Christina. Dream Babies: Child Care Advice from John Locke to Gina Ford. London: Frances Lincoln, 2008. Hays, Sharon. The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996. Lareau, Annette. Unequal Childhoods. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. Nadesan, Majia Holmer. ‘Engineering the Entrepreneurial Infant: Brain Science, Infant Development Toys, and Governmentality’. Cultural Studies, 16 no. 3 (2002): 401-32. Nichols, Sue, Nixon, Helen, Pudney, Valerie, and Jurvansuu, Sari. ‘Parents Resourcing Children’s Early Development and Learning’. Early Years, 29 no. 2 (2009): 147-61. Quirke, Linda. ‘‘Keeping your Minds Sharp’: Children’s Cognitive Stimulation and the Rise of Parenting Magazines, 1959-2003’. CRSA/RCSA, 43 no. 4 (2006): 387-406. ‘Regresso à Rotina’. Crescer, September 1996. Rose, Nikolas. Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self. London: Free Association Books, 1999. Schaub, Maryellen. ‘Parenting for Cognitive Development from 1950 to 2000: The Institutionalization of Mass Education and the Social Construction of Parenting in the United States’. Sociology of Education, 83 no. 1 (2010): 46-66. Wall, Glenda. ‘Mothers’ Experiences with Intensive Parenting and Brain Development Discourse’. Women’s Studies International Forum, 33 (2010): 25363. Walker, Christopher. ‘Seeking Information: A Study of the Use and Understanding of Information by Parents of the Young Children’. Journal of Information Literacy, 3 no. 2 (2009), 53-63.

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__________________________________________________________________ Warner, Judith. Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005. Wastell, David, and White, Sue. ‘Blinded by Neuroscience: Social Policy, the Family and the Infant Brain’. Family, Relationships and Societies, 1 no. 3 (2012): 397-414. Carla Vilhena is assistant professor at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of University of Algarve and researcher at GRUPOEDE-CEIS20, University of Coimbra. She holds a PhD in Educational Sciences. António Gomes Ferreira is subdirector and associate professor of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra. Coordinator and researcher of the GRUPOEDE - CEIS20, University of Coimbra. Coordinator of the PhD in Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra.