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punishment, this can include sending children
intended to help their passage to pre-school
to their rooms or depriving them of toys or the
education.
TV for a while.
There is some limited evidence of a gender Almost all of the discipline applied to young
divide in play. Boys play more roughly and
children comes from their mothers. Fathers,
boisterously and are discouraged from play
by contrast, are usually seen to be spoiling and
considered too ‘sissy’ and feminine.
indulging their children, undermining mothers’ efforts at discipline.
Instead of encouraging play, Caribbean parents tend to push children to be helpful around the
But the picture is not one of uniform blame
house, running errands, tidying up or fetching
and punishment. Children are often indulged
things. By the age of 5, they are often involved in
and encouraged, sometimes soon after being
caring for younger siblings.
punished.
Play and stimulation Caribbean cultures of childhood do not emphasise play. Mothers do not regard it as a central part of their role, and only get involved when things get out of hand and discipline is needed. Instead, their stress is on catering for children’s physical needs, life skills and appearance. Play is often regarded as a distraction and a potential problem, perhaps making children and their homes dirty and untidy. A child is likely to be praised for playing quietly and doing this on his or her own.
The ideal child All cultures have an idea of what a child should be like. In the Caribbean cultures we studied, the concept has four main elements. They are: development and motor skills behaviour social skills academic ability.
.. ..
In the first of these categories, children are praised for being active and attractive. In the second, being tidy and helpful are positive attributes. In the third, having good manners, being quiet and being respectful to adults are all
The availability of toys varies widely according
regarded as desirable, as are being friendly and
to family wealth. Poor families have few
loving. In terms of academic ability, being quick
toys and regard those they have as precious,
to learn, alert and understanding are all seen as
keeping them away from children except under
positive.
supervision. Richer families have more toys and parents can afford a more relaxed attitude to the
The other side of this coin is that not all
wear and tear the toys receive. When children of
children can match this ideal. Many mothers
richer families reach the age of around 2 or 3,
express concern that their children may turn
they also tend to receive more educational toys
out ‘spoilt,’ or in Dominican creole betant. Such