A Study on Mothers' "Nurturing Power" with a Focus on Children's Acquisition of Life Skills

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This is a two-part research study on mothers' "nurturing power". First, the lifestyles of children and the situation of their mothers were investigated. The decline in children's sleep hours was found to start shortly after entering elementary school, when their hours of rising become earlier and their bedtimes become later as their grades advance. Mothers of infants took on the responsibility for their children's sleep, clothing, and nutrition. Sleep, in particular, was the area where their sense of responsibility meshed with their practice of mothering. Concerning nutrition, the mothers displayed some degree of a sense of responsibility, but their practice didn't necessarily show the corresponding levels of consideration. Thus, we could conclude that nutrition is the area where it is hard for mothers to put their thinking into practice. One conclusion would be that "nurturing power" includes being able to co-ordinate actual practices. Second, the project examined the images of "nurturing power" that the child-rearing supporters (specialists) and mothers have, respectively. The images they shared were (a) providing children with the power of living independently and (b) having a clear vision of what their children will be like as grown-ups. The necessity to present to the children specific and age-appropriate goals was also hinted at.Throughout the whole project, we have revealed that if kindergartens and elementary schools were to start programs to support mothers trying to improve their "nurturing power", mothers might expect schools to take over large portions of what has to be done at home. It leads to the conclusion that a clear line has to be drawn between roles played by school and by family. And if such programs were to be considered, thorough communication has to be established between schools and mothers about the responsibilities they are to assume respectively.