""The most important element at any one moment is the ordinary home in which ordinary parents are doing an ordinary good job, starting off with infants and children with that basis for mental health which enables them to eventually become part of the community" ( The Spontaneous Gesture, 1950). However, in our country, and I suspect in other places as well, there is no "ordinary" way to raise a child."
"This sort of communal knowledge or this set of common values has been lost. Some new parents have focused on their own lives and education and have just not had prior experience with babies or young children. They may not know what to expect from a 1-year-old or a 5-year-old, and, as they become parents, they are at a loss when called upon to meet the ordinary situations of child rearing."
Many parents lack prior experience with babies and young children, leaving them unprepared and anxious when caring for an infant. A loss of communal knowledge and common child-rearing values means no single 'ordinary' way to raise a child exists for many families. New parents who prioritized education and careers may not have encountered young children and therefore may not know age-appropriate expectations or responses. Ordinary homes where parents provide consistent, good-enough care form a basis for children's mental health and community integration. School-based parenting education is proposed as one way to teach developmental norms and practical childcare strategies.
Read at Psychology Today
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