Are Dominant Cultures Skewing our Parenting?

Podcast Description

So much of what we believe to be true about how we parent our children is skewed by Western, dominant culture. A perfect example of this is potty training, where we’re told the day a child turns two years old is when you throw the diapers out. I even did this with my own son! But is this really developmentally appropriate for all children?

After working with families for the past 20 years, I strongly believe most of us are better served when we incorporate some of the rituals and traditions that our ancestors and our families of origin carried out. So much has been forgotten or even demonized as something we shouldn’t be doing anymore.

In this episode, I want to talk about the intersection of culture and parenting and how in many ways, we’re making life harder for ourselves by not latching onto our cultural traditions. I want to remind you how reconnecting with family rituals can actually be extremely healthy for you as parents and for your child’s development. 

You can follow Brandi and her work @deardouapodcast on IG, @brandi_jordan_official IG, and send questions, comments and platitudes to [email protected]. Have a question you want Brandi to answer? Shoot her an email or a DM and she might include it on her next podcast episode!

If you are looking for support with your children, you can reach out to us at The Cradle Company for more information on hiring a parenting or baby specialist.

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Time Stamps:

01:11 - We hear how a recent post about potty training inspired Brandi’s reflection on how culture influences our parenting choices.

03:53 - Brandi explains what the pandemic showed us about the intersection with culture and parenting.

06:23 - Brandi explores how dominant culture decides what’s demonized and what’s in fashion through the example of baby wearing.

08:01 - We learn about Brandi’s experience of parenting views in Black American culture versus what dominant culture tells us.

09:53 - We find out how reconnecting with cultural traditions teaches us about creating new ages of developmental appropriateness, rather than assuming what dominant culture says is right.

13:30 - Brandi tells us how cultural rituals can give you comfort when you’re exhausted from trying to follow constant rules about how to parent.

14:47 - Brandi questions how many of the responsibilities we have are taken on because we think we should be doing it.

17:02 - Brandi encourages us to think back to the family rituals from our childhood that we could incorporate into our own families.