Child-Rearing Practices in Kingston, Jamaica

Abstract

Child-rearing practices influence patterns of child development, so before planning educational and social services for young children, it is important to take into account normal cultural patterns. Little information is available on child-rearing practices in Jamaica, particularly in relation to very young children. In her now classic work, Clarke (1972) described the social background and family structure of rural Jamaica in the 1940s but made only fleeting reference to young children, stressing the important role played by grandmothers in child-rearing and the relatively small involvement of fathers. Kerr (1963) paid more attention to the older child and suggested a somewhat deprived environment: children being described as having no toys, no opportunities to manipulate materials nor to develop creativity. They were reported as doing heavy household chores at an early age and being subjected to authoritarian discipline. However, in both studies, the data concerning child-rearing were far from comprehensive and did not include Kingston, the largest city in Jamaica. During the course of two separate studies the same questionnaire, designed to document child-rearing habits and attitudes, was administered to mothers in low-income suburban areas of Kingston. In this report, we have combined information from both sources to obtain a more comprehensive picture of child-rearing in Kingston. It should be emphasized that this study was planned to be purely descriptive and not evaluative.