ISCAR 2014 Parenting practices in context: An analytic framework Anita Sundnes, Assistant professor Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences 30.October 2014

Contextualizing infant care: analytical challenge. Preliminary results from a qualitative study on toilet training. Explore how parental practices are situated in an everyday life context. Toilet training: the scientific concept dominating in the field is the child’s readiness Presentasjonens tittel 04.12.2018

In the Beng people of West Africa, mothers perform enemas on their infants from after a few days after birth. Enema: the injection of liquid through the anus to motivate evacuation. Presentasjonens tittel 04.12.2018

An analysis of cleanliness development vs. toilet training The concept of readiness is a limited tool to promote an understanding of how parents’ practices are conditioned by social context. An analysis of cleanliness development vs. toilet training Choice of concept: To absorb the parents’ practices related to the child’s urin and stool, that comes before the toilet use. Presentasjonens tittel 04.12.2018

Data A longitudinal qualitative study of the everyday lives of children age 0-3, initiated and led by Professor Agnes Andenæs. 58 families participated Interviewed 3 times during the age 0-3 9 leaders of the day care unit the child attended The life-mode interview approach (Haavind 1987, Andenaes 2014) Presentasjonens tittel 04.12.2018

The parents are in no hurry to regulate the child’s defecation In the first year, all the parents used diapers on their infant. In the second year, most used diapers In the third interview, half the children had started using the toilet Conditions: Time available, diapers, well-eqipped bathrooms. Access to other adults to share the cleanliness work with Presentasjonens tittel 04.12.2018

To sum up, an appropriate analytical approach may include Naming the phenomena in a way that may include parent’s practices and cultural variation. Directing the attention towards caretaking practices as events in the everyday life of the child. Investigating the parent’s negotiation of what kind of events should be included in the everyday life of the child: Negotiations between the here and now and the future for the child and other people involved. Investigating the parent’s “radius of consideration”: Who must the parents take into account in the negotiation, and on what grounds?