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A decisive intervention in the ";war"; between generations, asking who stands to gain from conflict between baby boomers and millennials Millennials have been incited to regard their parents' generation as entitled and selfish, and to blame the baby boomers of the Sixties for the cultural and economic problems of today. But is it true that young people have been victimized by their elders? In this book, Jennie Bristow looks at generational labels and the groups of people they apply to. Bristow argues that the prominence and popularity of terms like ";baby boomer,"; ";millennial,"; and ";snowflake"; in mainstream media operates as a smoke screen-directing attention away from important issues such as housing, education, pensions, and employment. Bristow systematically disputes the myths that surround the ";generational war,"; exposing it to be nothing more than a tool by which the political and social elite can avoid public scrutiny. With her lively and engaging style, Bristow highlights the major issues and concerns surrounding the sociological blame game

A decisive intervention in the "war" between generations, asking who stands to gain from conflict between baby boomers and millennials Millennials have been incited to regard their parents' generation as entitled and selfish, and to blame the baby boomers of the Sixties for the cultural and economic problems of today. But is it true that young people have been victimized by their elders? In this book, Jennie Bristow looks at generational labels and the groups of people they apply to. Bristow argues that the prominence and popularity of terms like "baby boomer," "millennial," and "snowflake" in mainstream media operates as a smoke screen-directing attention away from important issues such as housing, education, pensions, and employment. Bristow systematically disputes the myths that surround the "generational war," exposing it to be nothing more than a tool by which the political and social elite can avoid public scrutiny. With her lively and engaging style, Bristow highlights the major issues and concerns surrounding the sociological blame game

Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Why Study Generations? -- Features of the Problem of Generations Today -- History and Biography -- Continuity and Change -- Gender, Reproduction, and Life Course -- Boundaries and Labels -- Generations and the Sociology of Knowledge -- References -- Chapter 2: Fresh Contacts, Education, and the Cultural Heritage -- Fresh Contacts and the Cultural Heritage -- Tensions Within, and Beyond, the Curriculum -- Instrumentalism versus Humanism: A Long-Running Tension -- Post-War Curriculum Conflicts -- Gove versus the Blob

This book suggests that the enduring problem of generations remains that of knowledge: how society conceptualises the relationship between past, present and future, and the ways in which this is transmitted by adults to the young. Reflecting on Mannheim's seminal essay 'The Problem of Generations', the author explores why generations have become a focus for academic interest and policy developments today. Bristow argues that developments in education, teaching and parenting culture seek to resolve tensions of our present-day risk society through imposing an artificial distance between the generations. Bristow's book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of Sociology, Social Policy, Education, Family studies, Gerontology and Youth studies.

Cover -- Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- Acknowledgements -- Part I The Sociology of Generations -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Understanding Generations Historically -- 3 Mannheim's 'Problem of Generations' Revisited -- 4 The Birth of the Sixties - Generations after the Second World War -- Part II The Construction of the Baby Boomers as aSocial Problem in Britain -- 5 The Cultural Script of the Baby Boomer Problem -- 6 The Boomers as an Economic Problem -- 7 The Boomers as a Cultural Problem -- 8 Conclusion - The Problem of Generations Today -- Appendix: Study Design -- Notes

"The dominant cultural script for Baby Boomers is that they have 'had it all' - the benefits of a booming economy, the welfare state, and personal freedoms - thereby depriving younger generations of the opportunity to create a life for themselves. Bristow provides a critical account of this discourse by locating the problematisation of the Baby Boomers within a wider ambivalence about the legacy of the Sixties. At the heart of generational conflict is the mediation between past, present and future: where society is preserved and made anew by the interaction between emerging adults and the existing cultural heritage. However, this process of cultural renewal is situated within people who also exist within intimate relationships. This book critiques 'Boomer Blaming', which has some troubling consequences for the construction of knowledge, the focus of social policy, and the experience of generational contact"--

Parenthood, we are told, requires a massive adjustment to our lives, emotions, and relationships, and we have to be taught how to deal with that. But can it really be so bad that we need constant counselling and parenting classes? It is a myth that today's parents are hopeless and lazy: in many ways, we have become too diligent, too hopeful of great outcomes and clear rewards, to the point where we lose ourselves in trying to provide some kind of professional service to our children. The cur

Le sujet de cet article, à savoir le degré, la nature et l'implication des parents dans la réussite et le développement social de leurs enfants majeurs étudiant dans le supérieur, fait l'objet de nombreux débats aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni. Le problème des «parents hélicoptères » , qui surveillent, tels un drone, l'éducation et la vie sociale de leurs enfants, tend de plus en plus à être considéré comme une cause des difficultés des enfants à faire face aux exigences de la vie universitaire. Lorsque ces jeunes sont éloignés du foyer parental, l'objectif d'acquérir une plus grande indépendance, de se motiver soi-même et de se responsabiliser pour s'investir dans ses études supérieures leur serait plus difficile à atteindre. Cet article aborde également les difficultés que la génération des «Millennials » nés dans les années 1980 éprouveraient à gérer la pression du travail et la vie après l'université. Une analyse de la littérature afférente aux «parents hélicoptères » révèle un discours émaillé de contradictions, notamment sur la capacité des comportements parentaux à s'extraire de dynamiques institutionnelles et culturelles, qui explicitement ou implicitement dissuadent les jeunes majeurs de devenir à la fois indépendants et adultes. Ainsi, les critiques sur les «parents hélicoptères » expriment et éludent une socialisation incertaine des adultes en devenir.

This article reviews the results of a small study of the national British newspapers in the period immediately following the 2011 riots, which analyses the ways in which political and media discourse linked the riots to the problem of 'parenting'. It examines three discourses that arise from this linkage: (a) a generalised 'moral collapse'; (b) the specific problem of 'troubled families'; and (c) parenting policy and the problem of discipline. From this, I propose there is a fourth, 'missing discourse', which would situate the problem of parental authority within a wider crisis of adult authority. Drawing on historical and sociological reflections on the problem of parental authority in the late modern period, I propose that a more fruitful discussion would take account of the ways in which parenting culture and policy has challenged assumptions about generational responsibility.

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This collection introduces and explores the growing field of generational studies, providing a comprehensive overview of its strengths and limitations. With contributions from academics across a range of disciplines, the book showcases the concept's interdisciplinary potential by applying a generational lens to fields including sociology, literature, history, psychology, media studies and politics. Offering fresh perspectives, this original collection is a valuable addition to the field, opening new avenues for generational thinking.

Parenthood, we are told, requires a massive adjustment to our lives, emotions, and relationships, and we have to be taught how to deal with that. But can it really be so bad that we need constant counselling and parenting classes? It is a myth that today's parents are hopeless and lazy: in many ways, we have become too diligent, too hopeful of great outcomes and clear rewards, to the point where we lose ourselves in trying to provide some kind of professional service to our children. The current obsession with perfect parenting increases our insecurity and distrust of each other, and diminishes our authority over our kids. This book is about asking: Why have we invited Supernanny into our living rooms - and how can we kick her out?

By retracing the way in which maternal and parental work is supervised by a whole series of experts, this quartet of researchers lifts the veil on what parenting means today. The first edition, published a decade ago, was already a masterpiece and influenced the work of many. This updated edition is essential for anyone interested in the politicization of parenting issues. Claude Martin, Emeritus Research Professor, National Centre for Scientific Research, France Future historians will wonder why more researchers were not documenting and refuting the idea that today's kids are more fragile and helpless than any before them, and ditto, their parents. These authors peer behind the endless parenting advice, warnings and best practices to show us what is really going on when it comes to childhood, love, humanity, and the family. Lenore Skenazy, President, Let Grow, USA, and Author of Free-Range Kids Now in its second edition, Parenting Culture Studies seeks to understand how parenting is taken as a particular mode of childrearing that reflects broader social trends. Ten years after the initial volume's groundbreaking publication, the authors once again closely examine how the main aspects of parenting have been established, explored, and critically evaluated. Chapters revisit phenomena such as intensive parenting and politics around parenting, as well as controversial issues including policing pregnant women's bodies and parental determinism. In addition to updates throughout the volume, including those addressing literature that has built from the books original publication, the book features a new third part discussing parents dealing with risk assessment, school closures, contradictory care arrangements, and vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ellie Lee is Director of the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies and Professor of Family and Parenting Research at University of Kent, UK. Jennie Bristow is a Reader in Sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. Charlotte Faircloth is Associate Professor of Social Science in the UCL Social Research Institute at University College London, UK. Jan Macvarish is Visiting Research Fellow in the Centre for Parenting Culture Studies at the University of Kent, UK

In many countries, official guidance promotes alcohol abstinence to women during, and also before, pregnancy, on the basis of concern about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Guidance has moved away from reference to a 'choice to drink', claiming absence of evidence about safety of even 'low level' drinking as a justification. Scholarship drawing on sociologies of risk and uncertainty has drawn attention to problems with precautionary thinking in this area of policy making, including for women's autonomy. We build on these insights to assess a more recent type of UK guidance. This is directed not to women advising them to abstain, but instead it is about women, and tasks health professionals with managing the risk pregnant women's behaviour is deemed to present. Using qualitative discourse analysis, we assess one such example, developed in Scotland, called SIGN 156. We contextualise SIGN 156 first through discussion of the relevant literature, making particular use of Ruhl's considerations of the meaning of risk and the social conditioning of choice, and second through an account of developments in UK Government advice in recent years. We show that SIGN 156 builds on a policy context where a precautionary approach is explicit, but we furthermore detail how this approach innovates the guidance and practice field. SIGN 156 expands the meaning of risk and uncertainty and so justifies 'routine' monitoring and screening, generating the case for an expanded form of surveillance of pregnant women. We conclude with a critical commentary on the implications of this case for analyses of risk and uncertainty, and power.