Does everyone know about child development now?

[elliejjtiny]

I have a degree in child development and before I had my own dc I thought I knew everything, as you do when you are young. Then when I had my own dc I heard mums at baby groups and on mumsnet talking about treasure baskets and schemas and the national curriculum in Sweden etc, all things I learnt in my degree. Then by the time I had my youngest everyone at baby group was talking about that wonder weeks book and surges of development which I'd never heard of.

I used to feel like I was an expert in this but now I feel less knowledgeable than the average parent. I don't know if it's a confidence thing or like when people say they have "done their own research" when they mean the daily mail rather than the Lancet. I just feel like my degree isn't worth anything much anymore because I don't know anything more about children than any other parent.

No

There is no degree for motherhood.

Social sciences have an evolving body of knowledge to a greater degree than traditional subjects. But most knowledge is of its time.. But a degree isn't just about what you know, it's evidence of being able to read, study, process and respond to that knowledge at a given level. Knowing something isn't the same as being able to put it into the context of other studies, respond to it critically and be able to formulate an argument using it.

I think social media has democratised knowledge in a way. It has its advantages and disadvantages.

Perhaps you can do some additional study? The field is always evolving. Plus most people might know about schemas and play therapy etc but not names of experts, latest studies, biopsychosocial research, brain structure etc

I see more people in society generally fretting about tick box signifiers instead of concentrating on empathy and humanity.

The Wonder Weeks has been pretty comprehensively debunked. If you undertook a rigorous academic degree and can critically appraise research, that puts you ahead of lay people who lap it up uncritically...

Yes, I agree with @CakeIsNotAvailable , its the critical analysis skills that will ultimately set you apart. But if you want to practise in this area possibly a refresher course. Its a field that has evolved really rapidly as far as I'm aware.

I wouldn't say parents are experts on child development, but that they are more knowledgeable about the needs of their own children and have the confidence and resources to educate themselves. I work in early years now but had my children first. My first DS had a lot of issues and I spent so much time reading up on it as a SAHM thats when I got inspiration to work in this field. When DD and DS2 came along everything I knew seemed irrelevant as they were so different from DS1. Now my 2 DSs have the same ND diagnosis but couldn't be more different to each other. I was as clueless with DS2 as I had been years earlier, the only difference was I knew where to find the relevant info and had the right vocabulary. Its why I get particularly annoyed when people say 'my child has X diagnosis and this is how it is...'. I feel like screaming no it is not, you only know 1 person with this.

Yet with all that background I still had so much to learn when I started my training and more again when I started my work. I am lucky, the parents (bar 1) have always been respectful of our expertise and likewise I feel its very important to acknowledge that the parent knows their child so much better, mutual respect and listening to each other is how you figure out what's best for the child.

I also have noted that many parents on one hand underestimate what their child is capable of physically especially independence skills, but overestimate their emotional side. There seems to be a culture of serving our kids. Parents think children are not capable of pouring a drink or tidying up their toys when its very age appropriate yet they expect children to understand a detailed explanation as to the social norms of inviting friends to our house, or why they are not in a position to buy a toy the child asks for. I probably made the same mistakes with my own, but i am often shocked at how some adults think its ok for a child to stand there and expect and adult take off their hat or shoes when they are able to climb monkey bars or build with lego. In the academic materials I've read independence skills are deemed vital for developing self esteem but the memo seems to have been missed by many parents, often those claiming to be really well read.