Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (Hardcover)

by Annette Lareau (Author) "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..." (more)
Key Phrases: concerted cultivation, social structural location, informal play, Lower Richmond, Alexander Williams, Garrett Tallinger (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"Uneqal Childhoods is as exciting to read as it is depressing in its implications." (Four stars)--"The Scotsman"

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520237633
• ISBN-13: 978-0520237636
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,838,506 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling examination of family life and parenting , August 21, 2004

By	jwf (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

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!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent research and book, December 20, 2005

By	B. R. Mayes "Rick Mayes" (University of Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for teachers, March 9, 2004

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.