{"id":2085,"date":"2013-11-15T09:17:34","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T09:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/?page_id=2085"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:34:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:34:42","slug":"current-projects","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/research-themes\/early-intervention\/current-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Biologising Parenting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biologising Parenting: Neuroscience Discourse and English Social and Public Health Policy<\/strong>, \u00a0Ellie Lee, Pam Lowe and Jan Macvarish<\/p>\n

This study was funded by the Faraday Institute’s ‘Uses and Abuses of Biology’ funding programme.<\/p>\n

This two-year study traced and critiqued the adoption by UK policy-makers of the idea that ‘new brain research’ offers new ways of understanding how parents ought to raise their children. Since the late 1990s, \u2018brain claims\u2019 have entered parenting discourse in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. \u2018Brain claims\u2019 tend to emphasise the extreme vulnerability of the infant brain to the influence of parents, thereby raising the stakes of parenting and concretizing ideas of parental determinism. Neuroscience has been appropriated by policy advocates to argue for early intervention into parent-child relationships in the name of preventing social problems.\u00a0\u00a0The project entailed an analysis of \u00a0family-related social and public health policy documents since 1998, a review of existing literature critical of the development of \u00a0‘brain claims’ in family policy in the UK and elsewhere, and a review of historical literature to contextualise current trends within a longer history of efforts to ‘save’ children from their parents.<\/p>\n

\"Reports<\/a><\/p>\n

Reports by Labour MP and advocate of brain-based early intervention, Graham Allen.<\/p>\n

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Books published from the project<\/h2>\n

\"Macvarish<\/a><\/p>\n

Neuroparenting: The Expert Invasion of Family Life<\/em>\u00a0by Dr Jan Macvarish is published by Palgrave Macmillan<\/a>\u00a0(7 September 2016). The book traces the growing influence of \u2018neuroparenting\u2019 in British policy and politics. Neuroparenting advocates claim that all parents require training, especially in how their baby\u2019s brain develops. Taking issue with the claims that \u2018the first years last forever\u2019 and that infancy is a \u2018critical period\u2019 during which parents must strive ever harder to \u2018stimulate\u2019 their baby\u2019s brain just to achieve normal development, the author offers a trenchant and incisive case against the experts who claim to know best and in favour of the privacy, intimacy and autonomy which makes family life worth living.<\/p>\n

The book will be of interest to students and scholars of Sociology, Family and Intimate Life, Cultural Studies, Neuroscience, Social Policy and Child Development, as well as individuals with an interest in family policy-making.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

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We Need To Talk About Family: Essays on Neoliberalism, the Family and Popular Culture<\/a>, published by Cambridge Scholars, includes a chapter, ‘Understanding the Rise of Neuroparenting’ by Jan Macvarish, Ellie Lee and Pam Lowe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Papers published from the project<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n

Biologising parenting: neuroscience discourse, English social and public health policy and understandings of the child<\/a>, Sociology of Health and Illness, February 2015.<\/p>\n

Growing better brains? Pregnancy and\u00a0neuroscience discourses in English\u00a0social and welfare policies<\/a>, Health, Risk and Society, January 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘The \u2018First Three Years\u2019 Movement and the Infant Brain: A Review of Critiques’<\/a> Sociology Compass, Volume 8, Issue 6, pages792-804, June 2014.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Uses and Abuses of Biology Key Findings Report<\/a>\u00a0(PDF) 2014 Summary report of key findings from the Biologising Parenting: Neuroscience Discourse and English Social and Public Health Policy study.<\/p>\n

Dissemination event and related resources<\/b><\/h2>\n

An event to discuss and debate findings from this project was held at Birkbeck, University of London on 28 March 2014. The following are resources from that event.<\/p>\n

Event programme: The Uses and Abuses of Biology: Neuroscience, Parenting and Family Policy in Britain<\/a>\u00a0(PDF).<\/p>\n

\u2018Distortions of Neuroscience\u2019, Keynote Lecture by John Bruer, voice recording<\/a> and\u00a0PPT slides<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spiked-online interview with John Bruer<\/a>\u00a0by Helene Guldberg<\/p>\n

\u2018Biologising Parenting; Neuroscience Discourse and English Social and Public Health Policy\u2019, presentation by Jan Macvarish, PPT slides<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018Brain Science and Early Intervention<\/a>\u2019, presentation by Val Gillies.<\/p>\n

\u2018Early Intervention and Practitioners’ Views<\/a>\u2019, presentation by Nicola Horsley.<\/p>\n

Article by Dr Jan Macvarish on the ‘Baby Bonds’ report<\/a><\/p>\n

Guardian article by Zoe Williams discusses the conference<\/a><\/p>\n

Free Range Kids Blog discusses the study<\/a><\/p>\n

Guardian interview with John Bruer<\/a><\/p>\n

Selected conference papers and presentations<\/span><\/h2>\n

Medicalization and Moral Claims: Health care policies concerning the family and their effects on the moral understanding of the family<\/a> (PDF). Paper given at the Symposium, \u2018Between relational autonomy and trust\u2019, Goettingen University, Germany, July 2011<\/p>\n

A policy driven by prejudice masquerading as research: brain science and English social policy<\/a> (Slideshare). Paper given at the ESRC Symposium: Kinship & Genetic Journeys, Newcastle University, 23-24 February 2012<\/p>\n

Biologising parenting: neuroscience discourse and parenting culture<\/a> (PDF). Paper given at \u2018The Family in Crisis? Neoliberalism and the Politicisation of Parenting and the Family\u2019. University of East London, 28 June 2013<\/p>\n

Biologising Parenting: Neuroscience Discourse and English Social and Public Health Policy<\/a> (Slideshare). Paper given at workshop for participants in the \u2018Uses and Abuses of Biology\u2019 research programme. University of Cambridge, 21 September 2013<\/p>\n

Other sources relevant to the project<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Babies, Brains and Bull****<\/a>
\nThis is footage of a discussion filmed at the Battle of Ideas Festival 2013. Speakers included Professor Val Gillies (co-investigator for the study \u2018Brain Science and Early Intervention\u2019<\/a>\u00a0)\u00a0and the Chair and co-convenor of the discussion was CPCS\u2019 Jan Macvarish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biologising Parenting: Neuroscience Discourse and English Social and Public Health Policy, \u00a0Ellie Lee, Pam Lowe and Jan Macvarish This study was funded by the Faraday Institute’s ‘Uses and Abuses of Biology’ funding programme. This two-year study traced and critiqued the adoption by UK policy-makers of the idea that ‘new brain research’ offers new ways of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2496,"featured_media":0,"parent":1935,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2085"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2496"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4549,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2085\/revisions\/4549"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/parentingculturestudies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}