....said 'Middle-class parents, politicians (and, apparently, Mumsnet) have turned parenting into a science, says Professor Vincent of the Institute of Education, University of London' (Telegraph)
I didn't say that! At the beginning of the talk mentioned in the Telegraph I noted the abundance of parenting advice, and quoting another researcher
saying that mumsnet has reformulated the boundaries between public and private by taking the private concerns of participants (over the healthcare for those who have suffered miscarriages, over disability allowance, over the sexualisation of young girls clothes, for example) and making them into public campaigns, seeking public change. At the same time, a lot of mumsnet conversations do ? with varying degrees of support and empathy ? promote private solutions, promote changing individual maternal - behaviour, rather than the wider social and material contexts in which mothering takes place.Mothers are expected to work to improve themselves.
It was an illustration of the (not new) argument on the increase in maternal responsibilities for all aspects of their children's development.
I love mumsnet and have been a member (under a different name) for years!