Childhood is a crucial period in the development of an individual, and it is during this time that children learn and grow, developing their physical, cognitive, and social skills. Unfortunately, not all children have equal opportunities and experiences during this important stage of life. In fact, many children face significant challenges and disadvantages that can have long-term consequences on their well-being and future prospects.
One major factor contributing to unequal childhoods is socio-economic status. Children from low-income families often have limited access to resources and opportunities, such as quality education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities. These children may face more barriers to success and may be less likely to reach their full potential.
Another factor contributing to unequal childhoods is race and ethnicity. Children from marginalized racial and ethnic groups may face discrimination and bias, which can impact their sense of belonging and self-worth. They may also face barriers to education and employment, leading to a lack of equal opportunities and access to resources.
Geography can also play a role in determining the childhood experiences of an individual. Children living in rural areas may have less access to resources and opportunities compared to those living in urban areas, such as access to quality education, healthcare, and job opportunities.
There are also issues related to gender that can contribute to unequal childhoods. Girls, for example, may face discrimination and gender-based violence, leading to a lack of equal opportunities and access to resources.
Unequal childhoods can have long-term consequences on an individual's well-being and future prospects. Children who do not have access to the same resources and opportunities as their peers may struggle to reach their full potential and may face challenges in achieving success later in life. It is important that steps are taken to address the root causes of unequal childhoods and to ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive. This includes addressing issues related to socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, geography, and gender, and working to create a more equitable society for all children.
Sociologist Lareau Describes "Unequal Childhoods"
In other words, the class position in which you grow up very likely predicts your future class position. Basically, this parenting philosophy is about sustaining a child's natural growth. Unequal Childhoods will be read alongside Sewell and Hauser, Melvin Kohn, and Bourdieu. It is an important step forward in the study of social stratification and family life, and a valuable exemplar for comparative ethnographic work. Sheerr Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Lareau studied 12 families for her book and used a research method called participant observation.
Unequal childhoods : class, race, and family life : Lareau, Annette : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Participant observation is a technique whereby a researcher spends time observing subjects and participating in their lives. This is seen as more of an accomplishment than, for example, promoting a child's academic achievement. Lareau shows how middle-class parents, whether black or white, engage in a process of "concerted cultivation" designed to draw out children's talents and skills, while working-class and poor families rely on "the accomplishment of natural growth," in which a child's development unfolds spontaneously--as long as basic comfort, food, and shelter are provided. Annette Lareau answers this question with a resounding "yes" in this absorbing and thought-provoking book. In this major study, Lareau provides the tools to make sense of the frenzied middle-class obsession with their offspring's extracurricular activities; the similarities between black and white professionals; and the paths on which poor and working class kids are put by their circumstances. . Unequal Childhoods in Context: Results from a Quantitative Analysis Annette Lareau, Elliot Weininger, Dalton Conley, and Melissa Velez Afterword Appendix A.
Lareau briefly addresses race factors having an influence on outcomes for youth, but claims the class factors play a more significant role. According to Lareau, working class and poor children accept financial limits, seldom talk back, experience far less sibling rivalry and are noticeably free of a sense of entitlement. 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. Theory: Understanding the Work of Pierre Bourdieu Appendix C. This book will help generations of students understand that organized soccer and pick-up basketball have everything to do with the inequality of life chances. Lareau shows how middle-class parents, whether black or white, engage in a process of "concerted cultivation" designed to draw out children's talents and skills, while working-class and poor families rely on "the accomplishment of natural growth," in which a child's development unfolds spontaneously—as long as basic comfort, food, and shelter are provided.
. Lareau also noticed more subtle differences. This is a careful and interesting investigation of life in"the land of opportunity" and the"land of inequality. Children from both black and white middle class families develop what Lareau terms an emergent entitlement, which means they begin to see themselves as individuals, with the right to pursue their own interests. However, these different parenting styles have different consequences. While the second edition of the book contains the key information, additional details about each of the youth are presented here.
This made them appear older than the middle class participants who generally had less work experience, and the majority of whom had attended college after going through an extensive preparatory process of investigating various institutions and receiving much greater support and involvement of their parents in making their decision, both about the college to attend and the courses to take. Children in both white and black poor and working class families spent more time alone, playing outside by themselves or with neighbors. Working class and poor parents often work long hours or hold multiple jobs simply to support the family. L37 2003 Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life is a 2003 non-fiction book by American sociologist After her initial fieldwork was completed, Lareau returned to the families featured in her book to examine the pathways each of their lives had followed and to determine if her original research conclusions that class influences educational and work outcomes held true. The first edition of Unequal Childhoods was an instant classic, portraying in riveting detail the unexpected ways in which social class influences parenting in white and African American families. Language as a Conduit for Social Life: Harold McAllister Part III.
By the time college applications came around, his parents coached him toward the best option; he was recruited to his top-choice school. Lareau then told the story of a girl from a working-class family. Lareau also found that children from both black and white middle class families develop emergent entitlement, which means they begin to see themselves as individuals with the right to pursue their own interests, while poor and working class children develop emergent constraint, or feeling less confident about their abilities or the right to pursue individual interests. All in all, this is a thought-provoking book sure to become a classic for scholars working to understand how inequality is reproduced. Americans are so focused on meritocracy and individualism, they often forget that opportunity is not equal across class lines. But first, let's talk briefly about the concept of social class. Supporting Tables Appendix D.
Social Structure and Daily Life Part I. An important and provocative book. The middle class youth were more likely to be in courses that would lead to professional type occupations like business, medicine and law. The Power and Limits of Social Class Part IV. Unequal Childhoods thoughtfully demonstrates that class differences in cultural resources, played out in the daily routines of parenting, can have a powerful impact on children's chances for climbing the class ladder and achieving the American dream. Lareau comments in a lecture captured on YouTube This section does not Please help April 2020 Lareau and her graduate researchers followed these families around in their daily lives.
(PDF BOOK) Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Second Edition, with an Update a Decade Later kindle
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. For example, middle class parents were more likely to let children respond to questions and formulate their own insights, as opposed to 'talking down' to children. Lareau's findings have great force because they are thoroughly grounded in compelling ethnographic evidence. Natural growth, on the other hand, does not always provide for this same opportunity. In most cases, they did. .
Lareau advocates for an understanding of different socioeconomic backgrounds. The working class and poor kids had hopes and dreams, but were worn down. Lareau observed that working class and poor families spent more time together, largely because they lived in smaller spaces. Drawing on in-depth observations of black and white middle-class, working-class, and poor families, Unequal childhoods explores this fact, offering a picture of childhood today. Families and Institutions 8. The girl was left alone through much of her childhood, struggled in school and was later diagnosed with a learning disability.
Both methods of child rearing have advantages and disadvantages, she says: middle class kids may be better prepared for success at school, but they're also likely to be more stressed; and working class and poor kids may have closer family ties, but sometimes miss participating in extracurricular activities. Ten years ago, she shadowed 12 very different families with 10-year-old children for three weeks at a time. Each of these approaches to childrearing brings its own benefits and its own drawbacks. A decade later, Annette Lareau has revisited the same families and interviewed the original subjects to examine the impact of social class in the transition to adulthood. Some even gave money back to their parents as rent, for example, if they still lived at home. This corresponds with middle class values. Lareau spent time with 12 different families and utilized the research method of participant observation, a technique whereby a researcher spends time observing subjects and participating in their lives.
