Tiny happy people? Brain building and the ‘word gap’

Abstract

Presently and historically, working-class mothers have been positioned as problematic. Their children’s low attainment is blamed on perceived deficiencies in their parenting. Tied to this, the concept of the ‘word gap’ has been used to demonstrate a language deficit, which it is claimed leads to working-class children starting school behind their middle-class peers. These concepts are central tenets to the BBC’s Tiny Happy People website which was analysed to ascertain current ‘good’ mothering discourses. This critical discourse analysis considers the authorship of the website and the BBC’s status as commissioning editor, alongside its key concept: addressing the word gap. Tiny Happy People’s target audience are parents from lower socioeconomic groups. Together with the content of the website, this framing will be used to consider Tiny Happy People’s approach to the perceived problem and how that may affect working-class mothers.