Child-Rearing Practices Reported by Schoolchildren in Bavaria

Summary

A questionnaire investigating child-rearing aspects of psychological security, feeding and weaning, toilet training, and socialization was completed by teenage schoolchildren (37 boys and 35 girls) in a Bavarian village community. Analyses indicate that the male and female respondents may view some aspects of child-care practice differently. Replies to the questionnaire were marked by higher levels of ambivalence than reported previously for other ethnic groups. The children were also asked to judge how important various putative sources were in learning how to bring up children. While both the boys and girls attributed the greatest importance to one's own mother, the girls also judged their friends, as well as books and magazines, to be other relatively important sources.