Børn, mad og køn. Børns deltagelse i arbejde og beslutninger i familien
(2006) In TemaNord- Abstract
- 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... (More) - 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. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Maten handlar om vår fysiska överlevnad, men maten har också viktiga sociala funktioner i familjen/hushållet. I vår undersökningen ser vi hur konsumtionen ser ut i familjerna; konsumtionen blir en utbytesprocess mellan barn och föräldrar, mellan flickor och pojkar. Rapporten baserar sig på en empirisk studie med gruppintervjuer med 7-8 åriga barn från fyra nordiska länder, Sverige, Norge, Danmark och Finland.
Vi undersöker vilken roll barnen har i konsumtionsprocessen. Det rör sig därvid om vilka arbetsmoment barnen tar del i och vilket inflytande de har, samt om det är skillnad på flickors och pojkars inställning när det gäller arbetet med maten i familjen. Vi frågar oss om flickor och pojkar övertar en traditionell... (More) - Maten handlar om vår fysiska överlevnad, men maten har också viktiga sociala funktioner i familjen/hushållet. I vår undersökningen ser vi hur konsumtionen ser ut i familjerna; konsumtionen blir en utbytesprocess mellan barn och föräldrar, mellan flickor och pojkar. Rapporten baserar sig på en empirisk studie med gruppintervjuer med 7-8 åriga barn från fyra nordiska länder, Sverige, Norge, Danmark och Finland.
Vi undersöker vilken roll barnen har i konsumtionsprocessen. Det rör sig därvid om vilka arbetsmoment barnen tar del i och vilket inflytande de har, samt om det är skillnad på flickors och pojkars inställning när det gäller arbetet med maten i familjen. Vi frågar oss om flickor och pojkar övertar en traditionell arbetsfördelning, så att flickorna blir lika sin mor och pojkarna blir lika sin far?
Första delen av rapporten rör barnens del i beslutsprocesserna kring maten. Vi finner ett utpräglat givar-mottagarförhållande, där barnen är mottagarna och föräldrarna givarna. Vi undersöker förhandlingarna om maten och vi finner att det utövas makt och motstånd i föräldrar-barnrelationen. Konsumtionen innehåller både konflikter och konsensus. Barnen beskriver både uttalade och outtalade förhandlingar. Något är väl inarbetat och annat diskuteras högljutt. Det är en kamp med självständighetsmarkeringar mellan barn och föräldrar, men här finns även ett avslipat samspel i den dagiga interaktionen kring maten.
Empirin visar tydliga fasta system när det gäller måltidernas utseende, och det är dessa fasta system som barnen förhåller sig till. Barnen har där inflytande på vissa avgränsade områden. Barnens inflytande gäller särskilt när det gäller att bestämma efterrätten eller vad ”godisportionen” skall bestå av, och några gånger bestämmer de huvudmålet, men då handlar det om någon viss veckodag. Barnen både anpassar sig och bestämmer, och det samma gäller föräldrarna. Föräldrarollen är präglad båda av lyhördhet och kontroll. Man kan säga att föräldrarna administrerar en relation präglad av motsägelser, mellan det näringsmässiga och den känslomässigt goda måltiden. Föräldrarna har inkorporerat expertkunskaper om näringsmässighet, men de är även en väl utvecklad känslomässig ”lokal” kunskap om vad barnen tycker om.
Andra delen av rapporten behandlar barnens delaktighet i arbetet med maten. Vi ser i undersökningen på barnens deltagande i följande moment: dukning, avdukning och undanplockning, inköp, matlagning. Vi finner att barnens deltagande inte är särskilt omfattande. Vi hänvisar till Bonke (1998) som finner att 7-8-åringar använder ½ timme i veckan på hushållsarbete. I vår undersökning ser vi att barnen är mest aktiva när det gäller borddukning och undanplockning, och allra minst i matlagningen.
Barnen befrias ofta från hushållsarbetet för att ta del i andra aktiviteter. Barnen beskriver hur det förväntas av dem att de skall sköta om sig själva (städa rum, klä av och på sig) de skall medverka till att upprätthålla harmonin kring matbordet och de skall uppföra sig enligt vad som ses som god ton i familjen. Men de förväntas också ta del i fritids- och andra sociala aktiviteter. De uppmuntras till att delta i olika sociala sammanhang och i dessa lära sig att uppföra sig och i förlängningen handlar det om att lära sig att ta del i olika samhälliga sammanhang. Detta resultat kan fördjupas i Bonkes (1998) perspektiv. Han finner sociala skillnader när det gäller vilka uppgifter som barnen förväntas utföra.
Slutligen diskuterar vi den traditionella arbetsdelning som generellt råder mellan könen då det gäller arbetet med maten. Finns den också i barnens deltagande och i deras inställning till arbetet? Här finner vi att fickor i alla åldersgrupper bidrar mer än pojkar (Bonke, 2000). Vi finner även en skillnad i inställning till arbetet med maten mellan flickor och pojkar. Flickorna uttrycker en större kunskap och ett större intresse än pojkarna. Hos en del pojkar finns ett starkt motstånd mot de pålagda arbetsuppgifterna. Resultaten visar i denna mening på att det sker en reproduktion av könsrollerna genom konsumtionens socialisering. Men vi finner också en tendens till öppenhet i dessa strukturer. Förklaringen till detta finner vi bl a i de nya lösare familjestrukturer och att barnen generellt i denna ålder (7-8 årsåldern) inte ses som en avlastande resurs i hushållsarbete. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/532717
- author
- Sellerberg, Ann Mari LU and Thorsted, Stine LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2006
- type
- Book/Report
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Nordic countries, gender, kön, mat, Nordiska ministerrådet, food, Norden, barn, children, konsumtion, consumption
- in
- TemaNord
- pages
- 84 pages
- publisher
- Nordiska ministerrådet
- report number
- TemaNord 2006:519
- ISBN
- 92-883-1292-0
- language
- Danish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 73dbb22e-8e23-41ab-9af5-16926716836a (old id 532717)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 11:48:10
- date last changed
- 2021-03-22 13:38:47
@techreport{73dbb22e-8e23-41ab-9af5-16926716836a,
abstract = {{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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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. <br/><br/>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.<br/><br/>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.}},
author = {{Sellerberg, Ann Mari and Thorsted, Stine}},
institution = {{Nordiska ministerrådet}},
isbn = {{92-883-1292-0}},
keywords = {{Nordic countries; gender; kön; mat; Nordiska ministerrådet; food; Norden; barn; children; konsumtion; consumption}},
language = {{dan}},
number = {{TemaNord 2006:519}},
series = {{TemaNord}},
title = {{Børn, mad og køn. Børns deltagelse i arbejde og beslutninger i familien}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/5858631/963806.pdf}},
year = {{2006}},
}