1. Why do many Americans put babies in their own cribs, or feed them on schedules, or "let them cry it out"? What underlying cultural values and attitudes might parents be enculturating or passing on to their children?
2. What are some advantages of breastfeeding? What are the "natural" minimum and maximum ages of weaning, according to Dettwyler? How did she arrive at these figures? What factors in contemporary U.S. society make breast-feeding -- even during the first year of an infant's life -- difficult for many American moms, in your opinion?