Parenting Culture Studies

Ellie Lee is Reader in Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies at the University of Kent, UK. She has previously published Abortion, Motherhood and Mental Health. Jennie Bristow is a journalist and PhD Candidate at the University of Kent, UK. She has previously published Standing up to Supernanny (with F. Furedi) and Licensed to Hug. Charlotte Faircloth is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow at the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies, University of Kent, UK. She has previously published Militant Lactivism? and co-edited Parenting in Global Perspective. Jan Macvarish is a Research Fellow in the Centre for Health Services Studies at the University of Kent, UK.

• Introduction; Ellie Lee PART I: PARENTING CULTURE 1. Intensive Parenting and the Expansion of Parenting; Charlotte Faircloth 2. Experts and Parenting Culture; Ellie Lee 3. The Politics of Parenting; Jan Macvarish 4. Who Cares for Children? The Problem of Intergenerational Contact; Jennie Bristow PART II: ESSAYS ON PARENTAL DETERMINISM 1. Policing Pregnancy: The Pregnant Woman who Drinks; Ellie Lee 2. The Problem of 'Attachment': The 'Detached' Parent; Charlotte Faircloth 3. Babies' Brains and Parenting Policy: The 'Insensitive' Mother; Jan Macvarish 4. Intensive Fatherhood? The (Un)involved Dad; Charlotte Faircloth 5. The Double Bind of Parenting Culture: Helicopter Parents and Cotton Wool Kids; Jennie Bristow Conclusion; Ellie Lee

“This book gives an account of western parenting culture in the 21st century and its historical development. … The authors aim to highlight parental determinism as a key issue of modern parenting culture which has provided a catalyst for transforming the everyday mundanities of parenting into issues of concern for the structures and institutions of western society. In these endeavours the authors, undoubtedly, succeed and, in doing so, provide an accessible yet scholarly read.” (Victoria Earley, Sociology, Vol. 50 (3), June, 2016)“This text would be useful for those new to parenting studies as it provides a clear and accessible overview of the field. The bullet pointed chapter summaries at the end of each chapter and the beginning of each essay makes the book a useful educational resource … . the detailed analysis and stimulating arguments in relation to specific areas of contemporary parenting culture makes the text worthwhile reading for those already knowledgeable of the existing literature.” (Michelle Webster, The Sociological Review, Vol. 63 (1), May, 2015)