Editing Parenting (section)

====Indigenous American cultures====
[[File:Baby got Back.jpg|thumb|Baby on back in Lima, Peru]]
It is common for parents in many [[indigenous peoples of the americas|Indigenous American communities]] to use different parenting tools such as storytelling —like myths— ''Consejos'' (Spanish for "advice"), educational teasing, nonverbal communication, and observational learning to teach their children important values and life lessons.

[[Storytelling#Storytelling in indigenous cultures|Storytelling]] is a way for Indigenous American children to learn about their identity, community, and cultural history. Indigenous myths and folklore often personify animals and objects, reaffirming the belief that everything possesses a soul and deserves respect. These stories also help preserve the language and are used to reflect certain values or cultural histories.<ref>{{cite book|last=Archibald|first=Jo-Ann|year=2008|title=Indigenous Storywork: Educating The Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit|location=Vancouver, BC|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-1401-0}}{{page needed|date=June 2016}}</ref>

The ''Consejo'' is a [[Narrative#In cultural storytelling|narrative]] form of advice-giving. Rather than directly telling the child what to do in a particular situation, the parent might instead tell a story about a similar situation. The main character in the story is intended to help the child see their decision's implications without directly deciding for them; this teaches the child to be decisive and independent while still providing some guidance.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Delgado-Gaitan |first1=Concha |title=Consejos: The Power of Cultural Narratives |journal=Anthropology & Education Quarterly |volume=25 |issue=3 |year=1994 |pages=298–316 |jstor=3195848 |doi=10.1525/aeq.1994.25.3.04x0146p}}</ref>

The playful form of [[Teasing#Teasing in Indigenous American Communities|teasing]] is a parenting method used in some Indigenous American communities to keep children out of danger and guide their behavior. This parenting strategy uses stories, fabrications, or empty threats to guide children in making safe, intelligent decisions. For example, a parent may tell a child that there is a monster that jumps on children's backs if they walk alone at night. This explanation can help keep the child safe because instilling that fear creates greater awareness and lessens the likelihood that they will wander alone into trouble.<ref>Brown, P. (2002). Everyone has to lie in Tzeltal. (pp. 241–75) Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahwah, NJ.</ref>

In Navajo families, a child's development is partly focused on the importance of "respect" for all things. "Respect" consists of recognizing the significance of one's relationship with other things and people in the world. Children largely learn about this concept via [[Nonverbal communication#Children's Learning in Indigenous American Communities|nonverbal communication]] between parents and other family members.<ref name="Source 1996">Source: Chisholm, J.S. (1996). Learning "respect for everything": Navajo images of development. Images of childhood, 167–183.</ref> For example, children are initiated at an early age into the practice of an early morning run under any weather conditions. On this run, the community uses humor and laughter with each other, without directly including the child—who may not wish to get up early and run—to encourage the child to participate and become an active member of the community.<ref name="Source 1996" /> Parents also promote participation in the morning runs by placing their child in the snow and having them stay longer if they protest.<ref name="Source 1996" />[[File:Indians of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, making pottery, 1916 - NARA - 519165.jpg|thumb|Indians of Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, making pottery, 1916]]

Indigenous American parents often [[Child integration|incorporate children]] into everyday life, including adult activities, allowing the child to [[Observational learning#Indigenous communities of the Americas|learn through observation]]. This practice is known as LOPI, [[Learning by Observing and Pitching In]], where children are integrated into all types of mature daily activities and encouraged to observe and contribute in the community. This inclusion as a parenting tool promotes both community participation and learning.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Paradise|first1=Ruth|last2=Rogoff|first2=Barbara|title=Side by Side: Learning by Observing and Pitching In|journal=Journal of the Society of Psychological Anthropology|pages=102–37}}</ref>

One notable example appears in some Mayan communities: young girls are not permitted around the hearth for an extended period of time, since corn is sacred. Although this is an exception to their cultural preference for incorporating children into activities, including cooking, it is a strong example of observational learning. Mayan girls can only watch their mothers making tortillas for a few minutes at a time, but the sacredness of the activity captures their interest. They will then go and practice their mother's movements on other objects, such as kneading thin pieces of plastic like a tortilla. From this practice, when a girl comes of age, she is able to sit down and make tortillas without having ever received any explicit verbal instruction.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gaskins|first1=Suzanne|last2=Paradise|first2=Ruth|editor1-last=Lancy|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Bock|editor2-first=John|editor3-last=Gaskins|editor3-first=Suzanne|title=The Anthropology of Learning in Childhood|date=2010|publisher=AltaMira Press|location=United Kingdom|chapter=Learning Through Observation in Daily Life}}</ref>

However, in many cases oppressive circumstances such as forced conversion, land loss, and displacement led to diminishment of traditional Native American parenting techniques.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McKinley |first1=Catherine E. |last2=Lilly |first2=Jennifer |last3=Liddell |first3=Jessica L. |last4=Knipp |first4=Hannah |date=December 2021 |title="I Have to Watch Them Closely": Native American Parenting Practice and Philosophies |journal=Journal of Child and Family Studies |language=en |volume=30 |issue=12 |pages=2952–2965 |doi=10.1007/s10826-021-02116-w |issn=1062-1024 |pmc=8714024 |pmid=34966218}}</ref>