SUBSTANTIVE FEATURES OF THE MOTHER’S IMAGE OF YOUNG MOTHERS

Abstract

The aim of the study is to analyze the modern women’s ideas about ideal and good motherhood. The mothers in study are those who have the first experience of motherhood. Besides, the aim is to check the situation of age differences in the images of a «good» and «ideal» mother, revealing their empirical criteria. The analysis of theoretical approaches showed the presence of a special position of the mother’s image in the hierarchical system of the woman’s consciousness, which determines the contour of her reproductive sociocultural behavior. The connotations of the emotional and evaluative nature of the «good» and «ideal» images of the mother are revealed. A «good» mother is a positively assessed key family figure who inherits the educational traditions of the family. An «ideal» mother is closely connected with the «always» position: next to her child, financially provides him, her behavior is conscious and «correct», she is strict and does not exist in reality. The results obtained can be considered as a factor in the zone of proximal development of conscious motherhood and parenthood in general.

Keywords

• representations
• femininity
• «ideal» mother
• conscious motherhood
• «good» mother