What is a Mother? Before I begin discussing my early memories and definition of a mother, I feel it necessary to write a brief social location. I grew up in a rather small bilingual city in the east coast of Canada. As a child, as far as I could understand my parents had sufficient incomes, there was always ample food for my brother and me, and although time allowed to play video games was limited, we had the luxury to own a Nintendo. My family and a large number of French speaking families in my hometown identify as Acadians. Generally, Acadian families identify strongly with the Catholic religion. My parents never pushed religion on brother and me, but religion still played a large role in my upbringing; especially when visiting my grandparents
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Though vague and simple, I acknowledge that my definition is widely influenced by my education in Child in Youth Care and personal values. However, a short literature review, including articles from Ball and Pence (1999), Barman (2003), Cook (2001), Olsen (2002), Sutherland (1976), and Swadener and Lubeck (1995), provides various, more details views and answers to the question. In fact, these articles helped shed light on three ways one’s definition of an ‘ideal’ mother can be influenced: traditions and societal expectations, culture, and at-risk …show more content…
Though, “I Stand Here Ironing” was written in the 21st century, its story is told from the point of view of a woman/mother in the early 20th century. Olsen (2002) presents issues that were real for mothers of the time and that are still real at the time she wrote her story. The fictional story touches on ongoing themes, such as the social expectation that the mother should be selfless, and the feelings of guilt and responsibility for their child’s hardships and challenges. Ultimately, recognizing and understanding the history of families and family dynamics in Canada can help understand the root of many ongoing values, ideals, and gender
Though vague and simple, I acknowledge that my definition is widely influenced by my education in Child in Youth Care and personal values. However, a short literature review, including articles from Ball and Pence (1999), Barman (2003), Cook (2001), Olsen (2002), Sutherland (1976), and Swadener and Lubeck (1995), provides various, more details views and answers to the question. In fact, these articles helped shed light on three ways one’s definition of an ‘ideal’ mother can be influenced: traditions and societal expectations, culture, and at-risk …show more content…
Though, “I Stand Here Ironing” was written in the 21st century, its story is told from the point of view of a woman/mother in the early 20th century. Olsen (2002) presents issues that were real for mothers of the time and that are still real at the time she wrote her story. The fictional story touches on ongoing themes, such as the social expectation that the mother should be selfless, and the feelings of guilt and responsibility for their child’s hardships and challenges. Ultimately, recognizing and understanding the history of families and family dynamics in Canada can help understand the root of many ongoing values, ideals, and gender