Raising Children: The Strategy of Accusations in Establishing Age Boundaries and Moral Duty.

Raising children: the strategy of accusations in establishing age boundaries and moral duty.

This work aims to discuss the conflicts and negotiations on intergenerational relationships, specifically between adults and young children. It is based on studies of childhood, family, morality and emotions in the fields of Sociology and Anthropology. The research highlights the emic notions of "lack of attitude" regarding parenting and "lack of limits" related to the children’s behavior. These notions are related to complaints from adults which point out flaws in demarcation boundaries, between what cannot be exceeded or what has to be done as a moral duty. In spite of the fact that this discussion has been made in the field of Psychology and Education, this work develops reflections on education and care in childhood, according to a logic of a social category of accusation, which is a conscious strategy to manipulate power and morals, and to organize emotions. (Gilberto Velho, 1987).  This research is based on a triangular relationship between parents, teachers, and children considering the form of raising and education. The data comes from field research in an early childhood institution in a neighborhood with a low-income population in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The results demonstrate social representations that present disputes and negotiations on what is acceptable and tolerable. There is also a tension between stiffness and flexibility on the regulation of behavior, according to moral standards and the administration of moral emotions, in an intergenerational dynamic in the daily life of an early childhood institution.