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

elated, for example, to early childhoodstimulation or infant nutrition. However,compared to many other studies on similartopics, this analysis of grandmothers’ multifacetedrole and status at the householdlevel is useful as a backdrop against whichtheir specific newborn health-related practicescan be better understood.SYSTEMS APPROACH TO STUDYINGEARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT:NEPALIn Nepal, a study on early childhood development,commissioned by Save theChildren and UNICEF, was to serve as abasis for strengthening ECD programming.The research holistically examined theneeds of children in the context of familyand community life in two different areasof the country. An important objective ofthe study was to identify the strengths, traditions,and resourcefulness of families andcommunities, all existing in the face of considerableeconomic hardship. An initialcomponent of the study involved lookingat the roles of various caregivers withinthe family structure: women, men, grandmothers,grandfathers, male and femaleolder siblings.One basic finding was that there are clearlydifferentiated gender-related roles relatedto most household tasks, and childcareis primarily the responsibility of mothers,grandmothers, and girls. Men, grandfathers,and sons have a limited role in childcareand their responsibilities are moreoften related to tasks outside the home.From an early age female children aresocialized to carry out multiple domestictasks including caring for younger siblings,while at the same time preparing them formotherhood later in life. Within thisframework, grandmothers demonstrateand instruct young mothers, and in turntheir daughters, on how to carry out thevarious tasks associated with “female” rolesin the household.While the number of nuclear householdsis increasing, extended family contextswhere grandparents are present still predominatewhere there are multiple femalecaretakers.Most mothers with young children areobliged to work long hours and oftenaway from home during the day and duringthe peak farming period. At these timesyoung children are cared for by olderfemale siblings and grandmothers who areoften inadequately equipped to providethem with a nutritious, safe and simulatingenvironment. Grandmothers provide continuousadvice both to younger femalehousehold members and to husbandsregarding the health and well-being ofwomen and children in the household anddepending on their health they take onmore or less strenuous childcare anddomestic tasks. Another finding that hasimportant implications for efforts toimprove women’s childcare practices isthat in most Nepalese families there is aclear hierarchy of power and decisionmakingin which the eldest male has theultimate authority in the family, followed bythe mother-in-law, her sons, and lastly, theirwives. Within this structure the mother-inlawhas considerable authority over decisionsmade and actions taken regardingher grandchildren, which often creates anuncomfortable situation for the daughter­GRANDMOTHERS:THE LEARNING INSTITUTION69