Manufacturing "Bad Mothers": A Critical Perspective on Child Neglect

Jane Heath is a psychology instructor at Ryerson Polytechnical
University.

This clearly presented and trenchantly argued book presents child
neglect and the concept of the neglecting mother as phenomena that can
be understood only in the context of class, gender, race, and a
child-welfare system designed to ensure that particular groups of
citizens remain subservient to the social elite. Swift regards the
mother as an unpaid employee of the state and as a victim, along with
her children, of poverty and the entrenched structures of society. Even
those who disagree with Swift will find her thoughts on child neglect
stimulating and thought-provoking. The general reader may be daunted by
the book’s heavy reliance on academic language.