Mission New Baby Thesis

Analysis of Mission: New Baby The children’s book that I selected to analyze is Mission: New Baby written by Susan Hood. The book focuses on the responsibilities of older siblings and how they should be a helpful older sibling. The book begins with how the family announces to their children that they are going to be expecting a brother or sister. Then the child helps their parents prepare for the baby by setting up the stroller and their room. Then the baby is born into the family and the book goes into details of what a helpful older sibling should do. In the book it mentions read stories, teach them the ABC’s, play hide and seek, and so on. The book describes numerous ways of the responsibilities of older siblings have when expecting a new
Another tenant that Burr (2003) used to describe Social Constructionism is “Knowledge and social action go together” (p.5). That knowledge and social action gets impacted and constructed by the society we live in today. Our society holds certain expectations of what and how the oldest sibling in a family should act and help out their little siblings. Research by Mendelson, Villa, and Fitch (1997) has found that older sibling hold these certain responsibilities, “teaching, help, protection, and caretaking were prescribed predominantly to older siblings” (p.567). Older siblings holds the most responsibilities that society and parents expect from them. Research has proved “that parents have higher expectations for first-borns than for later-borns” (Mendelson et al., 1997, p. 567). Throughout the book, it mentions specific responsibilities that an older sibling should contribute towards the younger siblings. In the book it promotes that playing hide and see, reading them a book, teaching them the ABC’s and what sounds animal makes are all responsibilities that older siblings are expected to perform. The book was written to inform and teach children on how to be helpful older