Grandmothers: A Learning Institution - Basic Education and Policy ...

families should listen to the “experts”rather than the inadequate knowledge ofthe older generation.EXAMPLES FROM ASIABangladesh: The influential role of grandmothersin families, particularly paternalgrandmothers, was revealed in key informantinterviews conducted with NGO fieldstaff involved in ECD programs supportedby CARE (Munmun 2004), Save theChildren/US (Mahmud & Mitra 2004), andPlan International (Akhter 2004). There isa saying in Bengali that,“Grandmothersand Grandfathers know everything” (DaduNani janen), reflecting the respect thatyounger family members are expected tohave for the experience and wisdom ofthe elders. All interviewees stated thatgrandmothers have two main roles inmost Bangladeshi families. First, they assistwith all aspects of childcare, particularly foryoung children and when mothers arebusy with other tasks. In most familiesthey are the main caregiver after themothers. Second, they teach both theirchildren and grandchildren about allaspects of life, based on their life-longexperiences. One of the key methodsused by grandmothers and grandfathers toteach children is storytelling, in which valuesand traditional ideas are passed on tothe next generation.India: In Bihar, rapid assessments carriedout both by CARE (Capps 2004) and CRS(Harvey 2004), in the context of theirrespective child survival projects, revealedthe strong influence of the mothers-in-law,or paternal grandmothers, both on decision-makingby husbands and their wives,and on all matters related to child rearingand health. In some cases grandmothersdescribed beneficial traditional practices,such as exclusive breastfeeding, andexpressed regrets that many youngerwomen have not adopted this same practice.On the other hand, many grandmothersdescribed harmful practices thatthey recommend, such as advising awoman who has just delivered to not eatfor three days. The assessments documentedtwo attitudes of the grandmothersobserved during the interviews thatappear to be significant. First, in both casesit is reported that they were very assertivewhen describing their beliefs and practices.This suggests the level of confidence theyhave in their own experience and the convictionwith which they probably tell theirdaughter-in-laws what to do. Second, inboth cases they expressed their interest inlearning about new concepts related tochild health in order to improve their practices.Another dimension of grandmothers’ roles,related to pregnancy and childbirth, isreported by Wiley (2002). In rural northwestIndia, both during and after pregnancy,women’s practices with themselves andtheir newborns are greatly influenced bythe advice they receive from their networksof female neighbors and relatives,and especially by the experienced, olderwomen, viewed as authorities on thesetopics. The authority and influence thatthese senior women have on youngerwomen is clearly revealed in Wiley’s referenceto their role in the informal “managementof pregnancy” (1098) wherein widerangingadvice is provided to women on64 UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT