Historical May 1976 discussion of child development and motherhood; period claims are preserved as archival reporting, not current parenting advice.
It is difficult to imagine that there exists a mother of pre-schoolers who has not asked herself if she is worth more than a glorified baby-sitter. Fortunately there is increasing evidence that mothering is a highly significant job.
In order to prevent educational underachievement by many children in the future, an educational research program called the Harvard Pre-School Project has been studying critical experiential influences in the development of a child’s competence during the first six years of life.
Initially the project’s research team started compiling a working definition of the competent six year old. This involved study of a broad array of preschool children. Out of the original sampling fortyone children were selected for further study. Of these half were judged unusually competent. The other half seemed to have very low competence.
The children were observed at home and in their nursery schools in an effort to discover those social and non-social abilities that distinguish between the two groups. The resulting list of distinguishing abilities was used to define competence in the three to six year old child.
SOCIAL ABILITIES
- To get and maintain the attention of adults in socially acceptable ways. To use adults as resources. To express both affection and hostility to adults.
- To lead and to follow peers. To express both affection and hostility to peers. To compete with peers.
- To show pride in one’s accomplishments.
- To involve oneself in playing adult roles, or other-wise express the desire to grow up.
NONSOCIAL ABILITIES Verbal abilities (to speak and comprehend).
- Intellectual ability (to sense dissonance or note discrepancies; i.e., numbers, letters, rules; to take the perspective of another; to make interesting associations).
- Executive ability (to plan and carry out multi-stepped activities; to use resources effectively).
- Ability to focus on two things at once (that is, the ability to sustain attention upon a task, and at the same time to monitor peripheral events).
The next goal for the Harvard PreSchool Project was to study the emergence of these abilities. This endeavor led to the remarkable awareness that some children as young as three exhibited the same skills as older, competent children. The research group concluded that, if distinguishing abilities began to appear by age three, the focus of the project would have to be narrowed to the period from the second to the third year of life. The next phase of the project was designed to investigate those aspects of the caretaking behavior of the young child’s primary caretaker which seemed likely to make a difference in the child’s development. Such an attempt involved a complicated search for families likely to send either beautifully developed or poorly developed children to school. Then the research team was allowed to watch thirty-nine babies in homes from both groups for over four years. Observation time amounted to two hours every other week for up to two years.
Dr. Burton White, director of the Harvard Pre-School Project and other members of the staff believe that most women are capable of doing a superb job with their pre-schoolers. As educational psychologists they are convinced that an effective mother need not necessarily have a high-school diploma, let alone a college degree. Nor does she need to have much money. Effective mothers have been found in unhappy homes or without husbands. What apparently effective mothers do have in common is their approach to the functions of designer and consultant for their children’s lives. These mothers arrange their homes with the child’s interests and safety in mind. Rarely a meticulous housekeeper, the effective mother encourages her small ones to explore much of the house, preferring to valuables out of reach. She provides many manipulative objects, often from the kitchen cupboards for play. She is somewhat indulgent but she sets limits and is consistent when discipline is needed. She does not insist, however, on winning every controversy. While other duties keep her busy she stays close to her children and usually responds enthusiastically to their needs and interests. Effective mothers seldom spend large periods formally teaching their children but they do a lot of teaching on the fly, ususally following the child’s lead.
The effective mother’s role is time consuming and it requires vast amounts of energy and patience yet the Harvard Pre-School Project claims to have studied families coping at a welfare level of income with many closely spaced children, which are as successful in child-rearing during the early years as the most advantaged families.
Despite their many obvious differences, effective mothers share certain basic attitudes. They are optimistic about life. They really enjoy spending time with their children. They are not deeply concerned about household possessions nor are they overly protective of their children’s safety.
One result of the Harvard Pre-School Project’s study has been the development of guidelines for the use of mothers of infants and toddlers. These guidelines are under implementation in a pilot training center at Brookline, Mass.
1. Allow as broad a range of the house. as possible in order to give your child the maximum opportunity to exercise curiosity and explore his world.
2. Provide a varied assortment of ordinary objects as well as affordable toys such as blocks, tricycles, etc.
3. Be available to your child at least half of his waking hours. Hovering is unnecessary but be there to offer support and encouragement when needed.
4. Try to respond promptly and favorably.
5. If there is confusion try to understand what your child is trying to do.
6. Use words as often as possible.
7. Encourage pretend activities.
8. When it is necessary apply discipline firmly and consistently.
9. Make minimum use of a playpen or other restrictive devices.
10. Encourage your child’s independence; whenever possible allow her to make her own choices.
11. Expect to lose some battles with your pre-schooler.
12. Try to avoid taking a full-time job during the early formative years.
13. It’s better not to force toilet training.
14. Try to help your small one understand that the world was not made for him alone.
If there were only one message to be derived from the work of Dr. White and his associates it might be that mothering is a vastly underrated occupation. Mothering is an art which not only expresses an inspiring capacity for love but which also nourishes the strength of our future society.
Originally published in The Paper, May 1976.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Printed incomplete “preferring to valuables out of reach” and printed “ususally” retained. All fourteen printed guidelines preserved as historical claims.
Original source: SD_Times1976_05.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
