Parenting is Flat

How Globalization and Technology Have Changed Familynomics

Overview:

How are family relationships being outsourced?

Globalization n the process by which local or regional experiences become integrated on a global level.

Familynomics n the social science of how the dynamics of family relationships change, develop and grow.

Family dynamics, once private and affected only by local impacts, are now more open to public platforms and greatly influenced by family members’ increasing access to global and non-local phenomena.  This is happening because the Internet, media and technology have increased exposure, awareness and accountability to individual family members.
An example of this shift is the difference between a grandmother 30 years ago consulting with her school’s principal, family doctor and maybe a few family friends about her child’s behavioral problem and get some advice.  As compared to a mother today logging into Cafemom.com, talking to a parent in Colombia in a behavioral questions group, skimming wikianswers and voting on the answers she likes best and submitting a question to WebMD about her child’s problem to get some advice.

The shift from local parenting to globalized family interactions began slowly and changes in relationships in the home were subtle. Yet, as the Internet increased its reach, technology developed and the generations born with these changes come of age, we see how familynomics have changed. In Parenting Is Flat, we will examine the effects, both positive and negative of globalization on family structure, parent-child relationship and how children of this age will grow up and integrate differently in their adult lifestyle.

I will explain these shifts through examples, stories and case studies of 30 families from 30 different countries.

Purpose:

For families and individuals to get greater insight into how digitalization is changing family structure and prepare and prevent for negative changes and encourage the positive effects globalization brings.  Many young people also need to gain a more global perspective and understand how important it is to be aware of the world around them.

About the Author:

Vanessa Van Petten graduated Magna Cum Laude from Emory University in 2007 with a degree in Mandarin, International Studies and East Asian Studies.  She speaks English, Mandarin, Spanish and French and has lived in over 7 different countries.  She wrote her first book, “You’re Grounded!” a parenting books from the kid’s perspective when she was 17.  She started her popular parenting website in 2007, RadicalParenting.com and is now on an international speaking tour, connecting with both kids and parents around the world about bridging the communication gap between generations and keeping up with changes in the family. Her first book won the 2009 Mom’s Choice Award and her websites and blogs are read by over 500,000 people per month.  Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Fox 5 New York, CNN, the World Journal and Teen Vogue.

Schedule:

Case Studies Booked: Canada (June 2009), Israel (August 2009), Argentina (December 2009), Uruguay (January 2010), Chile (January 2010)

Chapters 1-4 (By September 2009)

Chapters 5-8 (By December 2009)

Chapters 9-12 (By February 2010)

Case Studies Completed (December 2010)

Support Platforms:

Web Show: Vanessa will be filming her interviews with each family, she will also be giving family members their own Flip Camera’s for one day to film their average day.  We will be making 5-minute webisodes of each family for our readers to get a visual view into their daily life.

Column: Vanessa will also be writing a column for each country she visits so blog readers can get a taste of Parenting Is Flat and get insight into how the book is progressing.

Website and Social Network: Vanessa will be building a social network for global families to communicate online and for internationals teens and tweens to find pen pals or buddies abroad to increase global awareness.

Audience:

•    Parents with children of all ages.  Parents of newborns or infants will want to know how the shift will affect their offspring and how to prevent the negative influences.  Parents of children and teenagers will have already noticed this shift and will greatly appreciate the insights that Parenting Is Flat will give them on their children, and their own, behaviors.
•    Empty nesters and Grandparents will also be interested in this book as a generational study and to better understand how their children will parent and how their grandchildren will see the world.
•    Social scientists, therapists and family and child experts will also be interested in this book to get an understanding of how media and the Internet has changed family relationships from the perspective of someone actually in that generation.

Expanded Table of Contents:

I. How Parenting Became Flat

How globalization, digitalization and urbanization have caused the parenting world to flatten and what this means.  I will go over the positive and negative consequences of the flattening of parenting and overall trends in areas of the world.

•    Travel
•    Blogs
•    Social Networks
•    Computers, Phones and Screens oh my

II. School is Flat

Virtual studying, TeacherTube, English tutors in India and global summer programs have changed education and the way parents parent their children through school.

•    Flattening Teachers
•    Flattening Schools
•    Technology in Schools
•    No Longer a Hegemonic Point of View

III. Hobbies are Flat

Part III is a growing part of my research.  This is how digital kids and families are having fun in a flat world.  How vacationing, arguments and options for jobs and internships are now different in a flat world.

•    Global travel and Study Abroad
•    International Gaming, Chatting and Hobbies
•    View into Another Teen’s World: YouTube, Facebook and MySpace
•    Global Music, Clothes and Trends

V. Case Studies

I have already spent 5 months doing research in China and 4 months in Australia examining youth, parents and their families to go into this books as case studies.  I plan on doing case studies in 30 different countries.

VI. Bringing Flat to You

What about the families in rural America or Portugal? Have they felt the flattening yet? I argue that many in rural areas have felt it more than in cosmopolitan regions.  In this chapter I will talk about how local communities can reap the benefits of flat parenting by creating community-parenting co-ops. I will also talk about small changes families can make to better incorporate their children into a flat world.

•    Making Parenting Flatter:
o    Flat Hobbies and Education on a Daily Basis

VII. Conclusion: The Future of Flat Parenting

How will flat parenting change children and our world’s future adults? What will happen if some parents adopt a flat parenting lifestyle and others fight it?  I will also be examining what types of young workers flat parenting will produce.

Case Studies on Parenting is Flat

This is the most exciting part.  I have already lived and done research in Los Angeles, United States, Sydney, Australia and Shanghai, China on youth and parenting. I plan to continue to do research in at least 3 other regions around the world to provide case studies in Part V of Parenting is Flat.

I will also be interviewing families about their daily lifestyle from around the world.  I am having trouble deciding between my next destination for research and thought I would ask you, my readers, which city you would prefer to read about in a case study on parenting.

The four question survey is here.  The questions are:

1. I would be interested in seeing Radical Parenting do a case study on Parenting in the following cities:
•    Singapore
•    Buenos Aires, Argentina
•    Santiago, Chile

2. We will be choosing a few rural cities in different countries.  Which rural area to do a case study would you be most interested in? (Example: Midwestern United States, Gold Coast of Australia, etc)

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3. What other areas do you think would be interesting for us to do research on?
•    India
•    Europe
•    Canada
•    Middle East
•    Other

4. Anything else you would like to know about parenting in different countries and how globalization has affected parenting?

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Click Here to take the survey

Would love your thoughts, after all it is for you!