Do we care?

For the past ten years or so I have been working part of the time in the 'South' - previously known as the developing world or the Third Majority.

Many international agencies now refer to these countries in as neutral language as possible, comparing them with the rich nations of the 'North'.

I've been working there partly because I have a vested interest - my two grandchildren are African and are growing up in South Africa.

My connections with my African family have gradually led me to question many of the conventional ideas about bringing up young children, and their applicability to the South. I have been fortunate to have had the time and the funding to explore these ideas in greater depth, and to discuss them with researchers and early childhood practitioners who live and work in the South. My book Unequal Childhoods: Young Children's Lives in Poor Countries is an attempt to explain some of the difficulties and contradictions in the lives of children who live in poor countries, and, equally important, to explore some of our own responsibilities in the North towards changing their situation.