1. Douglas, S. and Michaels, M. (2004) The Mommy Myth: The idealization of motherhood and how it has undermined all women (New York: Free Press).
2. This is a useful book for those with an interest in popular and media representations of mothering. Douglas and Michaels examine the cult of the ‘new momism’, a trend in western culture (and particularly the US) that suggests that women can only achieve contentment through the perfection of mothering. They point out that the standards of this ideal remain out of reach, no matter how hard women try to ‘have it all’.
3. Lareau, A. (2003) Unequal Childhoods: Class, race, and family life (Berkeley: University of California Press).
4. Drawing on the in-depth observations of black and white middle class, working class, and poor families, this study explores the fact that class does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children and offers a picture of childhood in the twenty-first century. Lareau’s term ‘concerted cultivation’ has been widely picked up in the study of parenting culture to explain the work that parents put into ensuring optimal outcomes for their children.
5. Nelson, M. (2010) Parenting Out of Control: Anxious parents in uncertain times (New York and London: New York University Press).