MOTHER AS CG DEBATE

• Primary caregiver

  The person most responsible for an infant's health, development, and well-being
• The debate proposes that there is such a thing as a 'primary caregiver'
• We now live in a society that promotes equality and opportunity for all, irrespective of gender
• If the evidence suggests that the mother is the best primary caregiver of an infant

  It may have an impact on career prospects for women
• If the mother is the primary caregiver

  Fathers who may desperately want to care for their infants may be side-lined
• Breastfeeding

  Offers the healthiest start for infants as it protects the infant from numerous infections and diseases
• Breastfeeding

  Can build a strong physical and emotional bond between mother and baby which is important in later emotional development
• Feeding is not the only variable in healthy development
• Harlow's experiment with rhesus monkeys

  • Monkeys spent most of their time with the cloth mother, demonstrating contact comfort's importance
  • Monkeys developed into emotionally maladjusted adults
• The mother does not have to be the primary caregiver as feeding is not the basis for long-term attachment
• Mothers do not have to be primary caregivers
• If mothers are not able to physically be there to feed their children, they could use breast pumps to extract the milk whilst still providing nourishment and vitamins to the baby, without affecting their emotional development
• It is simplistic to argue that mothers should be the primary caregiver simply based on the feeding argument
• According to the UK-wide Infant Feeding Survey, only 24% of the UK population breastfed their children after they reached the age of 6 weeks
• This shows that even though mothers are staying at home with their children, they may not be breastfeeding, and makes this argument that mothers should be primary caregivers, pointless
• Freud's belief

  The mother/child relationship is essential for a child's long-term psychological well-being and disruptions to this relationship can have dire consequences
• Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis

  Continual disruption of the attachment between the infant and primary caregiver (mother), could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties
• Bowlby found that 86% of the children diagnosed with affectionless psychopathy had experienced prolonged periods of separation from their mothers
• Bowlby concluded that maternal deprivation does lead to emotions and behavioural disorders
• Bowlby's work provides support for the statement that the mother should be the primary caregiver as separation from the mother can have devastating consequences on the child
• Bowlby fails to address the reason why these children were separated from their mothers in the first place
• In many of the cases these children were separated as the home environment was not a positive environment for the child, suggesting the mother should not be the primary caregiver
• Caution must be used in Bowlby's study as cause and effect cannot be determined
• There are ethical concerns with the psychodynamic explanations as they could increase prejudices and stereotypes towards same-sex male couples
• Abraham et al found that male gay couples' brain activity mirrored that of a mother-father pairing, which goes against the idea that the mother needs to be the primary caregiver
• The ethical consequences of Freudian ideas are that they could be used to justify policies to prevent same-sex male couples from having children
• The role of mothers as primary caregivers in contemporary society, despite a significant portion of women being part of the workforce, can impact the cost of living
• In the UK, parents, regardless of gender or adoption status, are entitled to 12 months of parental leave, with the first 9 months being paid
• Statutory Maternity Pay covers up to 39 weeks, providing 90% of average weekly earnings for the initial six weeks, with the final three months being unpaid
• Many primary caregivers, facing financial constraints, return to work once their maternity pay concludes
• The UK's parental leave benefits fall short, offering only 20% of the average salary
• In contrast, countries like Sweden provide 18 months of leave, with 12 months paid
• This disparity highlights the UK's inadequate compensation for a role that influential psychologists such as Freud and Bowlby argue is crucial for women
• High-quality daycare


  Associated with later superior cognitive-linguistic functioning
• The National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) in February 2013 noted that "children 6 months of age and older who had more experience in childcare centres showed somewhat better cognitive and language development through age 3 and somewhat better pre-academic skills involving letters and numbers at age 4½ than children with less centre-based childcare experience"
• Fun and educational activities keep children engaged with learning, increasing their enthusiasm for it
• This provides support for the fact that the mother does not need to be the primary caregiver and that daycare centres provide a range of benefits that cannot be experienced in a home environment
• Aric Sigman's suggestion


  Children have elevated levels of cortisol in daycare (nursery settings), which is linked to stress-related illnesses, such as heart disease, dementia, and increased illness frequency
• This raises concerns about the emotional damage that daycare centres are causing children and the mother can provide a more nurturing environment which supports the argument that the mother should be the primary caregiver
• The Childcare Act is now law, and from September 2017, 3- and 4-year-olds of working parents in England will be eligible for 1140 hours of government-funded childcare per year the equivalent of 30 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year