How Does Parenting Behavior Differs by Social Class – Sociology Research Paper
Question: Explain the ways in which parenting behavior differs or varies in the various social classes. Social class affects almost every if not every aspect of life, including parenting. Lower class parents have a harder time providing needed items for their children.
As the textbook states, “even in two-paycheck marriages, lower middle-class parents often face time and money problems.” This means that parents who are of the lower class may not have the money to get good health care for their children, or even enough to eat. Also they are working more to earn enough money to survive, so they lose time to work, time which could otherwise be spent with their children. These parents also may not be able to afford college level education for their children, although many of them are “ambitious for their children, encouraging them to go to college even though they themselves usually are not college students,” according to the textbook. This means their children may have to put themselves through college if they want to go, which could serve as either a major sense of accomplishment if they complete college, or a major letdown if they are unable to do so.
Middle class families have more choices than lower class families simply by the fact that they have more money, and thus more access to resources. They are able to choose a neighborhood to live in and rear children. They can afford a better education level for their children, with money to send their children to college and private schools if they want to. Middle class families can possibly purchase household help to help with the daily tasks of living. This is important because it saves them time; time they could spend doing things with their children that lower class families might not be able to do. When their children get older, middle class families can afford to buy their children cars, preventing conflict over who will use the family car. Middle class families also have access to better health care than lower class families. This means that they have less to worry about as far as health concerns go with younger children, and they spend less time being sick or suffering from illness as their lower class counterparts.
Upper class families have access to the most resources of any other families. They have access to the best health care and the newest advances in medicine. This means they have the best chance of having their offspring survive. According to the textbook, “often their families have been established as wealthy for several generations and possess significant power and influence.” This means that they have been used to an elite lifestyle for several generations, and that their children will become used to this lifestyle. They have the money to send their children to the absolute best schools and their children are usually expected to go to college and do so more easily than children of families of lower social status. The textbook states that not a lot is known about upper class families but that their children might have a hard time getting motivated because they know they are “guaranteed a comfortable living no matter what – and whose accomplishments will likely never surpass those of their forebears.” This could cause emotional problems for their children, who might not feel like they have accomplished much by themselves.