Cultural models in communication with infants: Lessons from Kikaikelaki, Cameroon and Muenster, Germany

Abstract

Child rearing is a universal task, yet there are differing solutions according to the dynamics of socio-cultural milieu in which children are raised. Cultural models of what is considered good or bad parenting become explicit in everyday routine practices. Focusing on early mother–infant interactions in this article we examine the discursive practices and strategies that foster cultural values such as autonomy and relatedness. Drawing on micro-analysis of videotaped mother–infant interactions from middle-class families in Muenster, Germany and farming Nso families in Kikaikelaki, Cameroon, we aim at illustrating how diverse discursive strategies construct alternative versions of the child’s experience of self and self-in-relation-to-others. In each case, mothers draw on discursive practices that convey cultural norms and values that fit the relevant cultural context.