[lit-ideas] Re: Back to parenting and politics

On 2005/02/26, at 21:32, John Wager wrote:

> Her mother, from whom I am now
> divorced (part of the "unzipping" of left and right?), was critical of
> this approach, wanting both of us to be more authoritarian.

One source of friction when Kate was growing up was that her parents 
were constantly negotiating their relationship with each other as to 
their daughter. Ruth's and my family backgrounds were sufficiently 
different that we didn't have automatic agreement on the details of the 
type of family we were trying to create. In retrospect, we were 
striving to create a nurturant-parent family; but precisely what that 
would entail in terms of division of labor and the exercise of 
authority was always debatable.

We were, looking back on it, a classic case of what child psychologist 
Terry Brazelton talks about when he says that, starting from infancy, 
children negotiate separate relationships with each of their parents. 
Add that the parents themselves were groping for common ground and a 
sense of where the limits are; this particular family triangle was 
always complex.

John L. McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd.
55-13-202 Miyagaya, Nishi-ku
Yokohama, Japan 220-0006

Tel 81-45-314-9324
Email John.McCreery@xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Making Symbols is Our Business"

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