>Would anyone like to address Judith Harris' book _The Nurture Assumption_?
> I've not read it and don't know if it is in print yet. It already seems
>to be creating a bit of a stir. Her thesis, which apparently is that
>parenting does not have a strong influence on children, would force a
>radical rewriting of the history of childhood. Would anyone familiar with
>her work care to comment?
>
My limited understanding of parenting over time is that the idea that
parents are the major influence on children is relatively new in most
places--say +/-18th century--and for most socioeconomic strata. Is this
understanding wrong? If not, why would the Harris book (which I have not
read but I have read the article in the New Yorker) have to result in a
radical rewriting?
mary jo powell
<[log in to unmask]>
Austin TX
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|