This section from a paper I was assigned is discussing hunter-gatherer cultures in an attempt to analyze how our ancestors lived. In a way, it's a "natural" setup, since we've been hunter-gatherers for the vast majority of our existence as a species.
"In these groups, child rearing is a broadly shared undertaking done not only by the parents, but also by older sisters and brothers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents...the average infant in a Efe hunter-gatherer group is cared for by 11 people in addition to its parents."
Rachel's dream.
But on the other hand:
"In these circumstances, members of the grip had an interest in its demographic composition, and would sometimes act to eliminate elderly who were becoming dependent."
(Ronald Lee, Demographic, Change, Welfare, and Intergenerational Transfers: A Global Overview: 2003)
Also, another reading we were assigned discussed maternal support networks, and it looks like maternal grandmothers are much more likely to be supported by a family in the U.S. than paternal grandmothers, even when the paternal grandmothers are disabled and have nowhere else to go. Sorry mom.
3 comments:
I'm glad that I had a dad who took good care of his mom. I hope Nathan does the same for me.
hmm. interesting
What would we do without grandmas! Just wish we could go back to the stage where families stayed in the same general area and had a tight network for help in raising children...would be very nice!
Post a Comment