John Newson (1925–2010)

The qualitative sociological research of John and Elizabeth Newson, who wrote about systematic interviews with parents in Nottingham in the 1950s and 1960s. The first in the series of books based around observations in the St. Ans area of the city was Patterns of Infant Care in the Urban Community (1963). In it one learned what parents actually did rather than what they should or should not do – for instance, as bottle-feeding and even dummy use were nearly always instituted before the age of 1, the ‘weaning trauma’ did not really occur, even though advice booklets were simultaneously being sold on the subject. Smacking and allowing children to sleep in the parents’ bed were also clearly normal, whether or not desirable. Class differences were very evident, but not as extreme as might have been supposed. For example, middle-class parents were more likely than social class IV and V parents to put their infants to bed early and without the help of a bottle or dummy, but did not leave them to cry longer. If they did use a dummy, they were secretive about it. Much of the observation now takes on a period flavour, such as the description of ‘high tea’, and some differences, such as the age of mothers by class, are presumably now even greater.… (mais)