The representation of the family in pre-school books (1980 - 2023)

In this study, which examines the way the family is handled in preschool children's books between 1980 and 2023, the focus is on family types and parental attitudes regarding the communication of the child and the parent in order to better understand the position of the child in the family. In order to see the type of parent that the child takes as a role model, it has been tried to explain the historical and social changes through the family. While all these explanations were being made, the schooling process was reached with the understanding based on literacy proficiency after the invention of childhood in the middle of the fifteenth century, from the periods when childhood was defined as a small adult. Then, it was mentioned that the childhood created in bourgeois families was seen as a guarantee of the future and a great investment for the state, and at the point it has reached today, performance-based parenting with expert knowledge, child-centered families were mentioned. Although it is seen that the family categorized by modernization in the examined children's books cannot be included in the standard definitions, it is concluded that the most common representation among the stories in the mentioned books is the nuclear family. The biggest factor in this is the visible realization of social changes. In addition, the mother is now involved in business life, the father's responsibility for providing for the house is shared, so the representation of the more participatory and flexible family structure in children's books has increased. On the other hand, it is seen that there are children's books in which traditional gender roles are expressed with the concern of the dissolution of the family. When we look at the books published today, we encounter a supportive father figure who is sensitive to the needs of his child, meets his interests and expectations, and spends time with him. Moreover, the number of books in which the father is the center is quite high. When we look at the books published in the past, the opposite is the case, it was seen that the mother found more place in these books. It is seen that this type of father is interested in his child, even if the preschool children's books published recently include the "dominant father". The exemplary care at the point of care can only be found in the books that represent the egalitarian family. Most of the books included in our review provided examples of relevant, supportive parenting attitudes.