The baby was sitting with his mother when Leticia took him in her arms. She laughed kindly. "Poor little baby, what will you do if your mother dies?" she asked. "You will be an orphan! Alone and sad!" Then she turned around so that mother and child could not see each other. "Look! There is no more Mama! She is gone, dead! What will you do, my dear?"

This scene is described by the mother, Francesca Mezzenzana, in an article for Aeon. It was part of an experience that transformed her views on bringing up children.

Francesca is an anthropologistSomeone who studies human beings and societies. The word "anthropology" comes from the Greek "anthropos", meaning "human". It developed as a subject in Europe in the 19th century, although some regard the Arab historian Ibn Khaldun as the first anthropologist.. When her baby was four months old, she and her EcuadorianEcuador is a South American country with a population of nearly 18 million. husband took him to live in a village on the Amazon which was home to 500 Runa people.

Francesca arrived with all the ideas about being a parent that are accepted in the West. She quotes what the WHOShort for the World Health Organisation. recommends: "early physical contact between the baby and the mother, repeated eye contact, constant physical closeness, immediate responsiveness to infant's crying."

The main idea is that, to grow up happy and successful, "your child's physical and emotional needs must be promptly and appropriately responded to".

But this approach seemed strange to the Runa. One thing that worried them was the way Francesca carried her baby - in a sling facing towards her, so that he was always aware of her comforting presence. Runa babies are also carried in a sling, and accompany their parents day and night - but facing outwards.

Francesca came to realise that whereas she thought children needed protection, the Runa thought that they needed to engage with the world. And while Westerners believed that children should be looked after almost entirely by their parents, the Runa believed that they should be cared for by the community as a whole.

This was the point that Leticia, the baby's great-aunt, had been making: a child should not be entirely dependent on his or her mother. Francesca needed to get used to the idea of another villager taking her baby off for hours or even days to give her a break.

Another belief Francesca brought with her was that children should be the main focus of their parents' attention. If they cry, you should hurry to find out what is wrong. If they want something, you should try to give it to them. Everything the family does should be geared to them.  

But in Runa society, she found, "No canoe trip under a merciless sun is modified... No meal is organised around the needs of a young child. Parents do not play with their children... They do not praise their children's efforts."

This is not to say that Runa parents are less loving than Western ones. Rather, they want their children to grow up as happy and useful members of a close-knit community.

Consequently, children are taught from an early age that the world does not just revolve around them: they need to think about other people's wants and needs. That involves helping around the house and looking after younger children as soon as they are old enough to.

Yes: Western parents are much too indulgent towards their children. This increases the risk of them growing up as spoilt, selfish individualists. The Runa's community approach is far healthier.

No: Children are very vulnerable and need constant attention and encouragement if they are to grow up well-adjusted and successful - particularly in an environment as competitive as Western society. 

Or... There is no "right" way to bring up a child. Different communities require different qualities in their members. If Runa parents took their children to the West, they would adapt their ways too.