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Child-rearing in a risk society

Raising children in a 'risk society' will be the subject of a University of Kent organised seminar at Aston University on 16 and 17 September.

The first day of this Economic and Social Research Council-funded event will focus on the problem of trust. It will consider the way fear about the trustworthiness of adults in general has contributed to the erosion of community and how this has left parents more isolated in child-rearing. Presentations will consider this problem by looking at fears about adults touching children, concerns about outdoor play and the effects of the national vetting scheme.

The second day will look at motherhood, with a focus on the provision of information to pregnant women and new mothers. The seminar will consider feeding babies, advice to women about drinking alcohol and new developments in reproductive medicine.

Throughout, academics from sociology, psychology, social and health care policy, midwifery, law and philosophy will present new research about the way risk society shapes child-rearing practices.

Participants include: Dr Ellie Lee, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, University of Kent; Dr Sue Battersby, Independent Midwifery Researcher/Lecturer; Rebecca Kukla, Professor of Philosophy and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida; Jennie Bristow, journalist, researcher and founder of www.parentswithattitude.com; Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology, University of Kent; Dr Helene Guldberg, Associate Lecturer, Open University and Managing Director of Spiked-online.com; Dr Stuart Waiton, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Abertay Dundee, and Director of Generation Youth Issues; Heather Piper, Senior Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University; Dr Lydia Martens, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Keele University; and Jan Macvarish, Research Associate, Centre for Health Services Studies, University of Kent.

Dr Lee, the seminar organiser, said: 'Claims about risks to children's health and well-being have proliferated in recent years and form a central part of the context in which parents raise their children. It is widely recognised that ideas about what it means to be a 'good parent' have become linked to a mass of information and advice about how parents can best manage and reduce risk. The aim of this seminar is to get to grips with why this has happened and consider its effects for raising children.'

Dr Battersby, who will present her new research on infant feeding, commented: 'Previous research suggested new mothers who formula feed feel they receive minimal information and support. As a duty of care, midwives should inform, help and support these mothers to safely feed their infants. This, however, is not happening in many instances because midwives have very limited knowledge of formulae and because they feel restricted by infant-feeding policies. This has resulted in some midwives questioning whether they are the appropriate person to give mothers information.'

Dr Battersby will also be discussing her research with Professor Kukla. Of developments in the USA, Professor Kukla said: 'Recent breastfeeding advocacy campaigns aimed at mothers in the US have relied upon scaremongering rather than risk reduction or evidence-based advice. Mothers who offer their babies even a single bottle of formula are portrayed as actively harming their children. Current US attitudes towards infant feeding are driven by a politics of individual blame rather than by concern for making breastfeeding a comfortable and realistic option for mothers.'

'Child-rearing in a risk society' is the third in a series of 'Changing Parenting Culture' seminars.

Further information on the seminar, including abstracts, can be obtained from: www.parentingculturestudies.org/seminar-series/seminar3/programme.html

Note: journalists are welcome to attend.

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 1:14pm 27 July 2009