Are We WEIRD Parents? with Alma Gottlieb

Raising Primates

Alma Gottlieb, PhD, anthropologist and author of A World Of Babies, and I sit down to talk how our WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Democratic) culture can differ from many others around the world with regards to ideas and practices surrounding child rearing. We discussed: -why the Western notion of attachment theory doesn’t hold up around the world, and how the nuclear family in the West is a historically novel situation -how parenting ideals/values/practices differ from our own around the world, particularly with regards to infants and teenagers -why anthropologists shy away from the word “universally” -how cultural ideals are transmitted through child rearing, and the impact this has on the way children view themselves and their role in society -some ideas about ethics, infant mortality, and prenatal testing -creating a village in our modern technological world Check out Alma’s website: www.almagottlieb.com Different Faces of Attachment: www.amzn.com/131661798X Alma’s book A World Of Babies: www.amzn.com/1316502570 Alma’s Facebook page for A World of Babies: https://www.facebook.com/WOBBook/