You learned in your readings that parenting practices and techniques, used to shape child development, are influenced by many factors including culture, socioeconomic status, non-normative life events, and cohort effects. To understand cohort effects, consider that the experiences of a child growing up in the 1940s are different in many ways from that of a child growing up today.

Tasks:

Read the article: 

Synthesize what you learned in your readings as well as the above article to address the following:

• Using the chart/table below, list at least four parenting practices of three generations. (Note: Parenting practices are not the same as parenting styles, which will be discussed later in the course). You can describe parenting practices of three generations of your family members, another family you interview, or general practices of generations based on research you find. For example, how did each generation address issues such as education, extracurricular activities, breastfeeding, sleeping arrangements, religious involvement, etc.? Include brief demographic information (e.g., sex, age, region of the country) Note: three different generations means three different time periods, not just three different people. An example would be a grandparent, parent, and adult child who is now raising a child, all from the same family. Siblings are not from different generations.
• Now review the chart/table and discuss the following:
  • How were the parenting practices similar and different between generations?
  • Explain the concept of cohort effects. What cohort effects (e.g. historical or social events) might have influenced the parenting practices of each generation you described?
  • Identify and explain contextual factors (other than cohort effects) described by Kotchick and Forehand (2002) that might have influenced the parenting practices of each generation you described.
  • Why is it important to understand contextual factors, including cohort effects, when researching differences in parenting practices?

Generation 1:
Years children
were raised
(19XX-XXXX)Generation 2:
Years  Generation 3:
YearsParenting Practice 1: Education  Parenting Practice 2:  Parenting Practice 3:   Parenting Practice 4:  

• Present the chart or table and your comments in a 3-page paper in Word format. Be sure to include introductory and concluding paragraphs in your paper, and an APA style cover page, and reference page. You may copy this table into your paper, but make sure to fill in your own information based on the data you collected from your interviews. Don’t forget to complete the labels for all columns and rows.

Submission Details:

• Save your 3-page Microsoft Word document as LastnameFirstInitial_M1_A3. For example, if your name is John Smith, your document name should be SmithJ_M1_A3.doc.
• Be sure to follow APA rules for attributing sources. Use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources.
• By the due date assigned, submit your document to the Submissions Area.

Reference:
Kotchick, B.A. & Forehand, R. (2002). Putting parenting in perspective: A discussion of the contextual factors that shape parenting practices. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 11(3), 255–269.

Grading Criteria

Assignment 3 Grading CriteriaMaximum PointsPresented relevant and important data on at least four parenting practices of three generations in a chart for easy comparison.28Commented on the noteworthy differences and similarities.20Explained cohort effects. Analyzed data to draw conclusions, relating them to the concept of cohort effects. Described historical events or social issues during each generation that might have influenced parenting decisions.16Explained other contextual factors that might have influenced parenting decisions for each generation, as well as why contextual factors are important to understand.16Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.20Total:100