How cultural environment shapes (sl)eep: the developmental niche

The Developmental Niche by Charles M. Super and Sara Harkness explores how the cultural environment shapes a child’s development. It talks about three subsystems: physical and social settings, customs of child care, and the psychology of the caretakers.

Here, we will only be talking about why sleep patterns differ across cultures:

• Physical and Social Setting: It influences where and how the infants sleep. The reading compares the Kokwet community in Kenya with America. Kokwet infants mostly sleep with their moms in close proximity and are never left alone during the day which fosters co-dependent sleeping. While, American infants often sleep in separate cribs or rooms, fostering independent sleeping patterns.

• Customs of Child Care: Western caregiving systems take part in bedtime rituals and practices to prepare the infants for sleeping independently. In co-dependent systems, bedtime rituals aren’t usually the norm because the infant ends up sleeping in the caregiver’s arms.

• Psychology of Caretakers: Differences in the ideologies of caregivers can influence sleeping patterns. In cultures that promote autonomy, independent sleeping would be the norm and infants having difficulty sleeping would be referred to as difficult, whereas, in cultures that promote social cohesion and co-dependency, the infants’ adjusting their schedules to the social world would be considered good children.

The reading also mentions two strategies that caregivers undertake to handle an infant’s internal state:

• Management (co-dependent model): Caregivers manage the infant’s state by responding promptly to distress to restore equilibrium and maintain social cohesion.

• Negotiation (independent model): Caregivers engage in various forms of negotiation and attempt to shape the infant’s behavior through routines and expectations that encourage self-regulation and individuality. (To know more: (sl)eeping : management vs negotiation model in respect with Babies)

Which one applies more to your culture?

Read the full paper: Super, Charles & Harkness, Sara. (1986). The Developmental Niche: A Conceptualization at the Interface of Child and Culture. International Journal of Behavioral Development. 9. 545-569. 10.1177/016502548600900409