Ann Mari Sellerberg
Professor emerita
Børn, mad og køn. Børns deltagelse i arbejde og beslutninger i familien
Author
Summary, in English
Food is essential for our survival, but food has important social functions in the family/household as well. In our study we examine how consumption looks in the family; consumption becomes a process of exchange between children and parents, and between girls and boys. The report is based on an empirical study consisting of group interviews with 7-8 year old children from four Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
We examine what role children have in the process of consumption. Specifically, we look at which tasks children participate in and what kind of influence they have, as well as if there are differences in the attitudes of girls and boys regarding working with food in the family. A question for us is if girls and boys take on a traditional division of labor where girls become like their mothers and boys become like their fathers.
The first part of the report discusses the child’s role in the decision-making process for food. We find a widespread provider-receiver relationship, where the child is the receiver and the parents are the providers. We examine negotiations about food and find that power and resistance are exercised in the child-parent relationship. Consumption includes both conflicts and consensus. Children describe both explicit and implicit negotiations. Some things are dealt with internally while other things are discussed loudly. It is a struggle in which there are declarations of independence between child and parent, but here too there is also a subtle interplay in daily dealings with food.
The empirical material shows clear fixed routines regarding the appearance of meal-time, and it is these routines to which children orient themselves. Children have limited influence over this process in certain areas. The child’s influence is larger especially regarding decisions about dessert or what sweets are allowed. Some times children get to decide the meal, but this happens only on certain week-days. Children adapt to this situation as well as form it, and the same is true for parents. The role of the parents is marked by both compliance and control. Parents administrate a relationship consisting of contradictions, between a nutritious meal and an emotionally good meal. Parents have incorporated expert knowledge about nutrition, but they also have a well developed “local” emotional knowledge about what their children like.
The second part of the report describes children’s participation in food preparation. We see child participation in our study in the following areas: setting the table, clearing the table, buying of food and food preparation. We find that child participation is rather limited. We refer to Bonke (1998) who reports that 7-8 years olds spend ½ an hour per week on housework. In our study we see that children are most active during table-setting and table-clearing, and least active during the preparation of the meal.
Children are freed from housework to participate in other activities. Children describe how it is expected of them to take care of themselves (clean their own rooms, dress themselves) and they are expected to maintain harmony at the dinner table and they should behave according what is considered good behavior in the family. But they are also expected to participate in free-time and other social activities. They are encouraged to participate in different social situations and through these learn appropriate behaviors for later institutional or community settings. Bonke’s (1998) perspective can proved a context for our findings. He reports social differences regarding which tasks children are expected to perform.
Finally we discuss the traditional division of labor that generally dominates between the sexes regarding working with food. Does this division exist in child participation and in their attitudes towards this type of work? Here we find that girls in every age group contribute more than boys (Bonke, 2000). We also find a difference in attitude toward working with food between boys and girls. Girls express greater knowledge and a larger interest than boys. Some boys express a strong resistance to obligatory chores. The results show in this context that sex-roles are reproduced through consumptions socialization. But we also find a tendency toward openness in these structures. The explanation for this can be found in, among other things, the new variable family structure; and that children at this age (7-8 years) are not seen as a helpful resource for housework.
We examine what role children have in the process of consumption. Specifically, we look at which tasks children participate in and what kind of influence they have, as well as if there are differences in the attitudes of girls and boys regarding working with food in the family. A question for us is if girls and boys take on a traditional division of labor where girls become like their mothers and boys become like their fathers.
The first part of the report discusses the child’s role in the decision-making process for food. We find a widespread provider-receiver relationship, where the child is the receiver and the parents are the providers. We examine negotiations about food and find that power and resistance are exercised in the child-parent relationship. Consumption includes both conflicts and consensus. Children describe both explicit and implicit negotiations. Some things are dealt with internally while other things are discussed loudly. It is a struggle in which there are declarations of independence between child and parent, but here too there is also a subtle interplay in daily dealings with food.
The empirical material shows clear fixed routines regarding the appearance of meal-time, and it is these routines to which children orient themselves. Children have limited influence over this process in certain areas. The child’s influence is larger especially regarding decisions about dessert or what sweets are allowed. Some times children get to decide the meal, but this happens only on certain week-days. Children adapt to this situation as well as form it, and the same is true for parents. The role of the parents is marked by both compliance and control. Parents administrate a relationship consisting of contradictions, between a nutritious meal and an emotionally good meal. Parents have incorporated expert knowledge about nutrition, but they also have a well developed “local” emotional knowledge about what their children like.
The second part of the report describes children’s participation in food preparation. We see child participation in our study in the following areas: setting the table, clearing the table, buying of food and food preparation. We find that child participation is rather limited. We refer to Bonke (1998) who reports that 7-8 years olds spend ½ an hour per week on housework. In our study we see that children are most active during table-setting and table-clearing, and least active during the preparation of the meal.
Children are freed from housework to participate in other activities. Children describe how it is expected of them to take care of themselves (clean their own rooms, dress themselves) and they are expected to maintain harmony at the dinner table and they should behave according what is considered good behavior in the family. But they are also expected to participate in free-time and other social activities. They are encouraged to participate in different social situations and through these learn appropriate behaviors for later institutional or community settings. Bonke’s (1998) perspective can proved a context for our findings. He reports social differences regarding which tasks children are expected to perform.
Finally we discuss the traditional division of labor that generally dominates between the sexes regarding working with food. Does this division exist in child participation and in their attitudes towards this type of work? Here we find that girls in every age group contribute more than boys (Bonke, 2000). We also find a difference in attitude toward working with food between boys and girls. Girls express greater knowledge and a larger interest than boys. Some boys express a strong resistance to obligatory chores. The results show in this context that sex-roles are reproduced through consumptions socialization. But we also find a tendency toward openness in these structures. The explanation for this can be found in, among other things, the new variable family structure; and that children at this age (7-8 years) are not seen as a helpful resource for housework.
Department/s
- Sociology
- Department of Sociology
Publishing year
2006
Language
Danish
Publication/Series
TemaNord
Full text
Document type
Report
Publisher
Nordiska ministerrådet
Topic
- Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Keywords
- Nordic countries
- gender
- kön
- mat
- Nordiska ministerrådet
- food
- Norden
- barn
- children
- konsumtion
- consumption
Status
Published
Report number
TemaNord 2006:519
Research group
- Sociology of Everyday Life
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISBN: 92-883-1292-0