The Prospects Of American Children, Unequal Childhoods (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

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Summary: Unequal Childhoods
The prospects of American children are adversely affected by the race and social class of their respective families. Unequal Childhoods emphasizes on underprivileged sections of the society, the lifestyle of the blacks and whites and the differences in their working style. The book portrays the childhood activities of children from different class and families CITATION Ann11 \p 42 \t \l 1033 (Lareau 42). Annette Lareau, author of the book conducted a thorough research work on how the livelihood of the children is affected due to the discrimination of class and social race. It is believed that the blacks are discriminated and the whites get special benefits CITATION Ann13 \p 72 \t \l 1033 (Newitz 72).But the truth is that the whites also face discrimination on the basis of class, social race and family life in their community. Lareau found dissimilarity among the parenting styles of middle-class family and working class. She experienced that the children belonging to working-class family background were more lively and cheerful in leading their life because they get more control over their leisure time in contrast to middle-class children. The author cited various instances that stated the differential advantages to the children of middle-class and working poor class families CITATION Ann11 \p 42 \t \l 1033 (Lareau 42). She observed that the children belonging to working poor families were very much comfortable while interacting to others whereas the children from middle-class families were well-cultured in terms of greeting and showing respect to their elders. They initiate the conversation with a handshake and maintain eye contact while working class children usually do not look into eyes of the person they talk to. Middle-class parents mainly focused on “concerted cultivation” while the working class parents supported natural growth of their children CITATION Ann02 \p 747 \t \l 1033 (Lareau 747). Since the poor as well as middle-class families face financial problems, it is an accomplishment for them to sustain the growth of their children. During her research author brought out that the children from both black and white middle-class families have their personal preference in a particular circumstance. For instance, it has been shown that one of the kids was very interactive in sharing his problem when he was taken to the doctor. This ability of children was described as the sense of entitlement by the author. On the contrary, the children from working class and poor families are tending to be reluctant and accept the way whichever is provided to them CITATION Ann11 \p 44 \t \l 1033 (Lareau 44). They worked according to the person in authority and interact only to a certain area of their comfort. Lareau powerfully portrayed the class inequality and discussed several methodologies and processes that middle-class and working poor class people follow in ...