Differences Between High Status And Low Status Children Essay

The lives of children are greatly influenced by the environment they grow up in, and the people they come in contact with. For years, psychologists, researchers, and social workers have studied children, and why they do what they do. All have developed many different perspectives on how to view social problems and the development of individuals.

Many factors in a child’s life from birth to adulthood can impact how they grow not only cognitively, but socioemotionally. As many children are different, so are their ways in which they react in different non-normative life events. “Non-Normative

While the middle class children learn how to “play by the rules of game”, the working class children struggle with interacting with people as they never get trained to do so. That’s why the author states, “Children raised according to the logic of concerted cultivation can gain advantages, in the form of an emerging sense of entitlement, while children raised according to the logic of natural growth tend to develop an emerging sense of constraint.”

Accordint to the author Gonzalez-Mena, “The Status—that is, the family’s position in society—affects socialization and can in turn affect expectations as well as where children find themselves” (p.126). That is, children socialization is greatly affected by the status of the family due to, the different expectation between children belonging to rich families and that children living in poverty.

In most if not all cases, the class you are born into will determine how you will be raised, and who you will grow up to become. Whether you can speak up for yourself, if you are humble with what you have or you have a more hectic schedule or not, it all plays into what class you are from. No two childhoods are equal and Annette Lareau in her book, Unequal Childhoods explains why this is the case. I will be examining chapters four, five, and seven. These chapters examine poor and working children and teenagers and how their childhoods differ and relate to each other based on the class they were born in whether that be lower class to the poor. What can be learned from examining these three kids, Harold McAllister, Katie Brindle, and Tyrec Taylor is the advantages and disadvantages of having a childhood in the class of the poor or working class.

Reading this book shows how social class status of a child’s parents matters. One of the big issues was how it matter in school success. Chapter 1 talks about the difference between Concerted Cultivation and the Accomplishment of Natural Growth. Concerted Cultivation is a middle class child rearing technique they use on a child to improve their child talents. The middle class parents use this technique to schedule activities for their child. Parents also practice language with their child. Middle class parents let their child find agreement with them. Lareau states that middle class parents also takes more consideration with authorities that are associated with their children. For example, when a parent is not comfortable with the teacher’s way of teaching, middle class parents would directly speak with that

There were twelve children in each pre-school class, and there were two classes in the room I was assigned to. The children I interacted with ranges from four to five years old and came from socially diverse backgrounds. Hence, the observation and interaction I had with each child is different but did not entirely deviated from the expected level of maturity based on the various developmental theories. During this assignment, I observed the children regularly interacting with each other, honing their interpersonal skills through various activities. Although, the children tend to be egocentric at times, fighting over every pieces of Lego, as they struggle to see things from the perspective of other children. In particular, the children often bickers in vying for play time with me and the other teachers. However, in most cases, the children themselves resolved their squabble; a testament to Erikson’s theory, as they develop a sense of initiative and security in their ability to lead and make decisions. A true sign of the children’s developmental maturity.

Middle-class families often engage in a process called concerted cultivation, marked by a parenting style that promotes the involvement of children in multiple sports and activities, cultivates certain talents and skills that are culturally useful, and promotes open communication between parents and children. By involving children in organized activities, the children are able to develop socially acceptable skills and talents. By maintaining an open communication line between middle class parents and their children, parents often explain obscure concepts, expand the vocabulary of their children, and promote the questioning of authority. On the other hand, lower-income and poor families often take a less hands-on approach to child rearing. These families do not prioritize organized extracurricular activities as essential for growing up their children, and instead believe in the idea of accomplishment of natural growth. Because many of these families work long hours and struggle to provide their children with even the basic necessities, such as housing, safety, food, and water, the children are left mostly to themselves for entertainment and filling in extra

Everyone knows about the various stereotypes and social stigmas that come with socioeconomic status whether they will choose to admit it or not. Society has come to assume that a child who comes from a family of low socioeconomic status, that they will not do as well as a child who comes from a family of a greater socioeconomic status. Unfortunately these assumptions are so ingrained in our brains that we start to follow the self-fulfilling prophecy. When a child from a noticeably low socioeconomic status walks into a classroom, it is not uncommon for the teacher to automatically assume that the child will not perform well in class, and in turn either grades the child more harshly or does not give the child as much attention as the

Adolescence is about being yourself. Some people can’t determine wether or not it is better to fit in, or stand out. In “Lord of the Flies”, Piggy was being picked on and told Ralph that he was “the only boy in school that had asthma,” (Goulding). In “Lord of the Flies”, most of the kids on the island picked on Piggy. This is very similar to real life situations. In high school, or even grade school, there is normally one child, who is exceptionally different from the rest, who gets picked on. But, how do they determine if it is better to stand out or fit in? Either way, it’s kind of a lose, lose. If you stand out, you are more prone to be picked on or judged, but if you fit in, you are not being yourself and you are conforming to everyone else’s exceptions. We as individuals, shouldn’t be worried to be ourself, we should be able to be whoever we want.

The child I observed was a seven-year-old girl in Year 2 who sat on the second highest ability table in a mixed class. While not in school, she lived a substantial distance away meaning she travelled to and from school by car and was often the first child to arrive in the morning and the last to leave in the afternoon. I will focus on the social and emotional development of this child who, from now onwards, will be referred to as C.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the most widely studied constructs in the social sciences. Several ways of measuring SES have been proposed, but most include some quantification of family income, parental education, and occupational status. Research shows that SES is associated with a wide variety of health, cognitive, and socioemotional outcomes in children, with effects beginning prior to birth and continuing into adulthood. A variety of mechanisms linking SES to child well-being have been proposed, with most involving differences in access to material and social resources. For children, SES impacts well-being at multiple levels.

Children become rule based and listen when spoken to. School plays a large part in this since teacher educate kids to listen, sit down quietly and work in small , in the future will be vital for real life work in adulthood.("Stages of Growth Development," 1898-1987). In this stage of life Piaget’s cognitive theory comes into play. Children in this stage in life are more concrete operational, meaning that they deal with visible, tangible things. They become more systematic. Peer relationships and best friend are crucial at this stage, this helps children have deeper relationships while heading into adolescence and can help determine if they will be able to hold a relationship as adults (Stassen Berger, 2009). Social trend, such as violence, eating disorders and even drug use are seen more readily in ages seven to twelve years old. This increasing pressure in schools to recognize the problem and develop more activities such as sports, music, and social events to help children stay active and away from drug use, this eventually helps in adolescence and young adulthood years.

Take a moment and picture a child half naked in the streets. His body has been harshly neglected. Little to no calf muscles exist. His ribs are plainly countable. One, two, three up his left side. You can do the same to his right. Malnutrition only vaguely begins to describe his condition. The worst of anorexia doesn’t even compare to this child’s inhumane state. As for shelter, he lives in a dilapidated hut. Food is a luxury, as the child may be fed only three or four times a week. He’s expected to die by the age of five due to severe malnutrition and disease. This is the grim portrait of an Ethiopian child in absolute poverty. His life doesn’t allow for the basic essentials of food, shelter, or clothing.

Social interaction is a complex area of study because of how multifaceted it is. Social stability starts at an early age when the child or adolescent learns how to develop trust, take initiative, and achieve a sense of identity. Erick Erickson is a great example of showing the importance of completing the psychosocial stages of development (Erikson 1994). One can glean how crucial these psychosocial stages are and the support needed around the developing child to meet these checkpoints in their life. Children are incredibly malleable; however, instilling a negative light toward social interaction can affect how they manage their later years. Being aware of the crucial beginning steps of social interaction can set the stage on how one will be throughout their adulthood.