social cultural contexts of child rearing practicies
INTRODUCTION
People are born into societies which condition them into becoming the parents, partners, society they need to be. Medical anthropology is the manner where medical anthropologist use and expand anthropological main concepts in trying to understand; firstly, what a sickness is; secondly, how do those whom suffer from these sickness, understand, experience it hands-on and how do they act on it; and thirdly, how do certain health beliefs and practices play a part within and are created by surrounding social and cultural systems as well as social and environmental contexts. For the purpose of this response, I will look at how childrearing and child morality is shaped by the environmental, social and cultural context of Timbauba.
Nancy Scheper-Hughes is a medical anthropologist and was puzzled when she found out that mother from the Alto community, who lost they their infants, were not in any mode of grieve for their young ones. According to Scheper-Hughes (2013: 2) states that “Life on the Alto resembled prison culture, with moral ethic based on triage and survival”. Mother’s in this community perceived their infants as enemies because they all competed for the same thing; scarce resources. The environment did not provide enough resources for both the mother and infant and ending up causing the mother to put her need first instead of her baby’s, and that does not happen in many societies. This lack of resources caused the mother to see no value in the baby until the baby showed a will to live, a taste and a knack for life. All of this took place in the 1800s, were people were still trying to get their families and lives in order.
However, Scheper-Hughes (2013:3) notes that in the 2000s, social context of childrearing and child morality had changed. People were now educated and had access to resources that were once scarce. But there was on fact in society that still took the life of children away and that was created by society was gangs and drugs.
People are born into societies which condition them into becoming the parents, partners, society they need to be. Medical anthropology is the manner where medical anthropologist use and expand anthropological main concepts in trying to understand; firstly, what a sickness is; secondly, how do those whom suffer from these sickness, understand, experience it hands-on and how do they act on it; and thirdly, how do certain health beliefs and practices play a part within and are created by surrounding social and cultural systems as well as social and environmental contexts. For the purpose of this response, I will look at how childrearing and child morality is shaped by the environmental, social and cultural context of Timbauba.
Nancy Scheper-Hughes is a medical anthropologist and was puzzled when she found out that mother from the Alto community, who lost they their infants, were not in any mode of grieve for their young ones. According to Scheper-Hughes (2013: 2) states that “Life on the Alto resembled prison culture, with moral ethic based on triage and survival”. Mother’s in this community perceived their infants as enemies because they all competed for the same thing; scarce resources. The environment did not provide enough resources for both the mother and infant and ending up causing the mother to put her need first instead of her baby’s, and that does not happen in many societies. This lack of resources caused the mother to see no value in the baby until the baby showed a will to live, a taste and a knack for life. All of this took place in the 1800s, were people were still trying to get their families and lives in order.
However, Scheper-Hughes (2013:3) notes that in the 2000s, social context of childrearing and child morality had changed. People were now educated and had access to resources that were once scarce. But there was on fact in society that still took the life of children away and that was created by society was gangs and drugs.