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From Publishers Weekly
This accessible ethnographic study offers valuable insights into contemporary family life in poor, working class and middle class American households. Lareau, an assistant sociology professor at the University of California, shadowed 12 diverse families for about a month, aiming for "intensive 'naturalistic' observation" of parenting habits and family culture. In detailed case studies, she tells of an affluent suburban family exhausted by jaunts to soccer practice, and of a welfare mother's attempt to sell her furniture to fund a trip to Florida with her AIDS-stricken daughter. She also shows kids of all classes just goofing around. Parenting methods, Lareau argues, vary by class more than by race. In working class and poor households, she says, parents don't bother to reason with whiny offspring and children are expected to find their own recreation rather than relying upon their families to chauffeur them around to lessons and activities. 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. Middle class children, on the other hand, become adept at ensuring that their selfish needs are met by others and are conversant in social mores such as shaking hands, looking people in the eye and cooperating with others. 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. This is a careful and interesting investigation of life in "the land of opportunity" and the "land of inequality."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Uneqal Childhoods is as exciting to read as it is depressing in its implications." (Four stars)--"The Scotsman"
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Laughing and yelling, a white fourth-grader named Garrett Tallinger splashes around in the swimming pool in the backyard of his four-bedroom home in the suburbs on a late spring afternoon. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Laughing and yelling, a white fourth-grader named Garrett Tallinger splashes around in the swimming pool in the backyard of his four-bedroom home in the suburbs on a late spring afternoon. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read for teachers,
By A Customer
This review is from: Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (Paperback)
This is an excellent book for teachers. While it isn't written specifically for us, it gives insight into how parents of various social classes view the educational system and the role of teachers. It is something that you have thought of, but didn't realize the extent. It helps understand why the things you're doing just aren't working, and what you can do to help foster parental communication to better a child's education. Consider it a must-read for the theory side of teaching; however, anyone can gain valuble knowledge by reading this book.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not just for academics,
This review is from: Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (Paperback)
Looking into private family/parenting styles differentiated by class and race, the book reads almost like a series of mini reality TV shows airing on the Discovery or Learning channels with the added advantage of having an academic narrating and guiding you through it all.One advantage of Lareau's lucid style, is the ease with which the book can be read (dare I say enjoyed) by most readers. This book would be useful for parents wishing to compare the impact of different parental approaches or for teachers trying to assess parenting styles/philosophies based on child behavior. Another advantage is that it could also help readers understand adults and how their attitudes, management or decision making styles in the work place are affected by their race, class and upbringing. For instance, anyone trying to understand or perhaps even struggling to work with or manage "Generation Y" (Generation me) individuals, this is an outstanding must-read primer to other books such as "Not Everyone Gets a Trophy". Pages 165-181 and the top of page 245 relating to Stacey were so accurate that "Stacey" became office code for individuals with a high sense of entitlement coupled with a low to non-existent work ethic or performance level. For instance, `concerted cultivation' coupled with the presumption that a higher education automatically equates to higher salary sometimes leads to: "I've been told education leads to affluence; I got the education so give me the money, I deserve it!"; regardless of actual output, performance or competence, which then leads to "This is a mundane task and beneath me, I didn't get a Masters degree for this. This is boring. I also need constant direction and feedback on my performance. I was top of my class and my parents told me I was special... so when do I get that management job I deserve?". Overall, this is a great book, it was a fun read and was well worth the below $20 price tag. The paperback edition is of a good quality binding and paper with average sized font causing no eye strain. The text is clear and well printed with minimal or no noticeable typos. The pages offer plenty of margin space for notes; line spacing allows for easy underlines; endnotes only but worthwhile looking into during the read. Amazon lists it as 343 pages but the text only runs to p.257, followed by 3 appendices, endnotes, a bibliography and an index which give the book a total of 331 pages.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews) 54 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling examination of family life and parenting,
By jwf - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (Paperback)
My bookgroup read this book and we couldn't stop talking about it. Lareau concludes from her look at different families that there are 2 parenting styles in America: one for middle and upper class families (concerted cultivation)and another for poor and low-income families (natural development). This book made us think about how we were raised, how we wish to raise our children and why, and how these ideals do and don't match with our spouses' upbringing and parenting styles. Lareau outlines the positive and negative aspects of each parenting style. This is a fascinating book for anyone interested in race and class in America. It is also a fine example of a research study written for a lay audience. As an academic and qualitative researcher I found this to be an excellent guide. It was easy to read, even for my non-academic friends, and every footnote was revealing about Lareau's own biases and upbringing. A MUST READ!
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent research and book,
By Reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (Paperback)
I used this book in a senior seminar that I taught in the fall 2005 semester on children's health, education and welfare, and my students thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Besides getting caught up in the narrative of the children's lives that she chronicles, Lareau's research helped them conceptualize how they could initiate their own small-scale research projects. Her book, better than most others like it, puts a human face on the aggregate statistics that show that socioeconomic class is strongly determinative of children's futures.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read for teachers,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (Paperback)
This is an excellent book for teachers. While it isn't written specifically for us, it gives insight into how parents of various social classes view the educational system and the role of teachers. It is something that you have thought of, but didn't realize the extent. It helps understand why the things you're doing just aren't working, and what you can do to help foster parental communication to better a child's education. Consider it a must-read for the theory side of teaching; however, anyone can gain valuble knowledge by reading this book.
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