For a fascinating discussion of parenting behavior worldwide (US included),
which includes a great section on co-sleeping, I'd recommend _Our Babies,
Ourselves_ by Meredith Small. The book is from an anthropological
perspective, but I found that it supplemented my Developmental Psychology
discussions nicely.
Karen
Karen M. Jordan, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Dept. of Psychology
1007 W. Harrison
Chicago, IL 60607
-----Original Message-----
From: Dr. Kristina Lewis [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 1999 2:52 PM
To: TIPS
Subject: RE: Sleeping with parents
Jeff Ricker wrote:
> In my courses, I make a claim that I am not certain is accurate. As an
> example of how Freud has had a big influence on American culture (less
> so in other places), I point to the common belief in the US that parents
> should not let their children sleep with them. This is a practice that
> is very unusual (so I have heard) in many other parts of the world. I
> suggest to my students that Freud's theory of the Oedipus Complex was a
> major influence on this practice.
>
> Is this claim accurate? I'm sure that there must be other influences;
> but it seems to me that Freud's theory would have offered a "scientific"
> justification for this practice that would have been very influential.
>
I think Freudian ideas have had an impact here(when you read Ann Landers
for
example, the advice she gives about children sleeping with parents sounds
very Freudian, and older child care books --from the 40s and 50s--give
similar advice). But perhaps equally important is our cultural emphasis
on
independence. American parents foster self-reliance from an early age, and
part of this is being able to go to sleep in one's own room with the light
out.
In my child development class I have students read
Morelli, G. A., ROgoff, B. Oppenheim, D., & Goldsmith, D. (1992).
Cultural variations in infants' sleeping arrangements: Questions of
independence. Developmental Psychology, 28, 604-613.
This article compares North American and Mayan sleeping arrangements and
discusses the independence issue. INterestingly, the Mayan mothers think
that the North American practice of having babies and young children sleep
alone is neglectful. My students by and large are put off by the idea of
infants co-sleeping. I don't know if the rationale would differ if we were
talking about older children.
Kris Lewis
Saint Michael's College
Colchester, VT
