Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life is a book written by sociologist Annette Lareau that explores the differences in the ways that children from different socio-economic backgrounds are raised and the impacts that these differences have on their development and future outcomes.
The book is based on Lareau's extensive fieldwork, during which she observed and interviewed families from various socio-economic backgrounds in order to understand the ways in which their experiences differed. Lareau found that children from middle and upper-class backgrounds were often raised in a way that emphasized "concerted cultivation," or the active and intentional cultivation of skills and abilities through a variety of activities and experiences. These children were often enrolled in structured extracurricular activities, such as music lessons or sports teams, and were encouraged to express themselves and take initiative in their academic and personal lives.
In contrast, children from working-class and poor families were often raised through a process of "natural growth," in which their experiences were more unstructured and focused on the practicalities of daily life. These children were less likely to be enrolled in extracurricular activities and were often expected to help out with household tasks and care for younger siblings.
Lareau argues that these differences in childrearing practices have significant impacts on the future opportunities and outcomes of these children. Children who are raised through concerted cultivation are better equipped to navigate the complex and competitive institutions of higher education and the workforce, while those who are raised through natural growth may struggle to adapt to these environments.
Overall, Unequal Childhoods highlights the ways in which socio-economic background can shape the experiences and opportunities of children and the long-term impacts that these differences can have. It serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of addressing and reducing inequality in order to create a more equitable and just society.
Summary of Annette Lareau's Unequal Childhoods
To affirm this, the different examples that the scholar presents in the book could be used. They made special requests of teachers and doctors to adjust procedures to accommodate their desires. This style helps children in middle-class careers, teaches them to question people in authority, develops a large vocabulary, and makes them comfortable in discussions with people of authority. Families were living in newly built houses in the suburbs of a city. Natural growth, on the other hand, does not always provide for this same opportunity. Different Worlds of Black Girl Lost and Baby of the Family Although, African Americans are considered minorities in the United States, not all of them live in poverty.
In most cases, they did. Did you take many lessons after school? The exploitation of children for labor without concern for their education or welfare was common and even the norm. Middle-class children were trained in "the rules of the game" that govern interactions with institutional representatives. Lareau and her assistants conducted an ethnographic research of twelve families from a Unequal Childhoods Summary Lareau, in Unequal Childhoods, focuses on socioeconomic status and how that affects outcomes in the education system and the workplace. For example, in the section on the organization of daily life, there is a chapter on Garrett Tallinger, whose life typifies the hectic pace of concerted cultivation experienced by other middle-class children in the study.
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2011. For example, in middle-class homes, Lareau found that there was more talking than in working-class and poor homes, which leads middle-class children to have larger vocabularies and show more comfort when conversing with authority figures Lareau 5. Summary In Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau reports on the in-depth observations and interviews she conducted with middle-class, working-class, and poor families. While there are different definitions dating back to the earliest sociological theories, Lareau defines class using the following categories: income, parents' occupation and educational attainment, and where a family lives. Their parents do not pay due attention to the education and development of the children. The articles I chose speak both of issues regarding education and inequality and the growing gap of educational success between the haves and the have nots.
Ultimately, Lareau determined that social class was defined by three factors: income, occupational and educational attainment, and where a family resides. Similarly, unlike with busy middle class families, Lareau found that a lack of economic resources restricted working-class and poor parents from enrolling their children in extracurricular activities. Many African-american individual face a lot more stress than Caucasians, so their children usually have disruptive behavioral problems. But first, let's talk briefly about the concept of social class. Children would work on the family farm or a family business. Middle-class parents took a different approach to interventions in their children's lives than working-class parents and continued to play this support role and supervise as their children aged whereas working-class parents tended to stop once their children were 16—18 years old and it was felt they were old enough to make their own decisions.
Concerted cultivation is a middle class style of parenting that involves deliberate cultivation of a child's development. Participant observation is a technique whereby a researcher spends time observing subjects and participating in their lives. The Raising Of Children Dbq Essay 878 Words 4 Pages The Raising of children has been a topic that has changed quite a lot because things change due to the surroundings of the child and who they are bore from. They acted as though they had a right to pursue their own individual preferences and to actively manage interactions in institutional settings. Works Cited Lareau, Annette. She is a strong independent black woman who broke Summary Of ' Tweens : Ten Going On Fourteen ' Simon fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the contributing editor of City Journal.
The authors have talked about the missing class, which is not the middle class but near poor. Readers of this book are far more likely to be from middle or upper-middle class backgrounds, given that a large majority of readers are university students and scholars as opposed to lower income mothers. Lareau closes her book with a thought-provoking chapter on the power and limits of social class. In her book, Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau argues out that the influences of social class, as well as, race result in unequal childhoods Lareau 1. Instructor: Emily Cummins Emily Cummins received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and French Literature and an M. Most children are free to go out and play with friends and relatives who typically live close by. Working-class and poor families allow their children an accomplishment of natural growth, whereas middle-class parents prepare their children through concerted cultivation.
Natural growth is a parenting style where the child is left to carve their own path in a sense, but is left with a more reserved attitude. Although, both Sandra and Lena lead very different lives, both are faced with challenges as a minority and as a child which questions their view on life. They were more responsible for themselves than were middle class children. Eurocentric Theory 669 Words 3 Pages Throughout the article, there were many aspects that discussed the stress levels between African-American parents and Caucasian parents. On most days, life was hard for Anne, and as she got older she struggled to understand why they were living in such poverty when the white people her mother worked for had so many nice things, and could eat more than bread and beans for dinner. The operationalized definitions help guide the reader to understand the core concepts of the research.
Athenian Empire Isle of Melos Involved in Peloponnesian War Athenian vs. Although there are some established norms that dictate child rearing but parents and experts differ time to time. Here's a key takeaway: When Lareau followed up with the children years later, she found that each of the children had grown up to be a part of the same social class as his or her parents. The table allows the reader to get a simple and cohesive look at the differences between each sibling. However, these different parenting styles have different consequences.
Sociology Study Guide For Unequal Childhoods Flashcards
Also, the practice of concerted cultivation allows children to develop skills that are shown to be beneficial for the future. Indeed, at some point, Lareau reports that while race produces childhood inequality, most outcomes for children, from interactions to education, largely depends with social stratification 4. Spiritual childhood is a condition of commitment to the poor. However, based on the studies in Unequal Childhoods by Dr. This problem does not invalidate the book, but it does call upon the reader to effect social change by setting examples to peers that may be able to transform social norms.
Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, by...
Concerted cultivation is the cornerstone of Lareau's research and her most important independent variable. While reading Unequal Childhoods I kept finding Dick Gregory's Nigger: An Autobiography 1173 Words 5 Pages Children of color are over-represented in single-parent households with fifty-five percent of Black children and thirty-one percent of Hispanic children being raised in a single-parent household. This means that society creates and defines childhood and that is causes the changes in the status of childhood. Besides race, the scholar also reveals how childhoods are unequal based on social class. For middle class parents and children, much of their interaction occurred in the car as they shuttled between activities. Lareau arrived at several conclusions regarding how parenting styles differ by class and how this contributes to social class inequality. Throughout the book, Lareau stresses that both styles have advantages and disadvantages within the home, but that out of the home, concerted cultivation leads to greater cultural capital.
