Word: brazeltonized
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Peale and Agnew had a point of sorts but the wrong villain. In the 1940s and 1950s an airy permissiveness arose that may have contributed to the great campus tantrums of the late 1960s. Says Pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton of Harvard Medical School: "The parents I was taking care of in the '50s were terribly concerned that their children be pleased at all times. But that's not Ben's fault. If you look in the book, there's nothing permissive in there...
Originally, Brazelton had intended to use the scale to understand the baby so his parents could understand him too, "to cement parents to the baby they've got." But in recent years he has pursued another track while others have carried on his original purpose...
...Some of Brazelton's cross-cultural work has raised serious issues beyond questions of childrearing. By saying that Chinese babies are different from Americans, critics ask js Brazelton lending credence to racism? He says no, because even in newborn babies environmental influences on behavior are inseparably interwoven with the genetic. The health of the mother, the practices of giving birth, the family structure and the way the family treats its new member during its first crucial days all form part of the newborn's environment. As these factors vary from culture to culture, the infant shapes his behavior in response...
...That there are cross-cultural differences in newborn behavior is not controversial." Jerome Kagan, professor of Psychology and Social Relations, says. "The only controversy, and Brazelton is very flexible about this, has to do with how long these differences last, and what they have to do with future development," he added...
Despite his recent emphasis on cross-cultural comparisons. Brazelton has established a multidisciplinary training program for pediatricians interested in infants. His graduates have replicated the program at teaching hospitals around the country. "He has fostered and been mentor to the research of a lot of prominent pediatricians." Tronick says...