Multi Sibling Families vs Only Child

Growing up in a big family can be tough some days, although I would not have it any other way. My mom has four siblings and my dad has five, blessing me with over twenty first cousins and an extended family that is too large to count. I was also fortunate enough to have both sets of grandparents and several great grandparents as an active part of my life. I am the youngest of three kids, having an older brother and an older sister. Being the baby of the family growing up I did not get in much trouble for I had two older siblings to blame my mistakes on. Some people define family as, “any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins” (dictionary.com), while I define it as those

There are various family backgrounds a child may come from. If they grow up in an extended family circle, in close relationship not only with their parents and siblings but also with their grandparents and cousins, they might feel more protected by the people who surround them and have more opportunities to develop socially through frequent interactions with their relatives. A bigger family tend to give moral values and education to the child that also supports their social and cognitive progress. However, coming from a smaller, nuclear family does not mean that the child is not provided with the same values, and vice versa a child can have negative experiences, e.g. feeling of being lost in a house crowded with their family members. Reconstructed or one-parent families also have the potential to work well if the child is able to accept the changes and see that e.g. their parents are happier separated or with their new partner. Still teaching staff has to give closer attention to those children coming from broken up families because if they are unhappy or cannot deal with the changed circumstances, their academic and social development will be affected negatively.

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.

For over centuries, the term family has been specifically used to mean a group of people that consist of two parents and their children. The word is originally from the Latin word Familia, which means household or family. Although this word is known all over the world, it can have a different context to each person. In the United States alone, family can be referred to two adults and their children, a single-parent household, extended relatives, and a structure of more than two parents. Despite how the family structure may look like within a household, it plays a major role in life, either directly or indirectly.

Several years ago mothers normally stayed in the home with their children while the fathers took on the role as sole provider. Family life has changed dramatically over the years. Most families now being dual-income families where both the mother and father work, today it is much more common to see a child being raised by an outside caregiver or a single parent than it was just 40 years ago. Although this is more widely accepted than it once was, what are the effects on the children? Does the family structure make a difference in a how a child grows up and adapts to the world? Furthermore does is effect their future intimate relationships with other people as adults?

A family consists of a group of interacting individuals related by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption who interdependently perform relevant functions by fulfilling expected roles. (Edelman, Kudzma, & Mandle, 2014, p. 150)

Prior to reading Unequal Childhoods I was aware that there were advantages and disadvantages among children from different social classes however your book painted a more realistic picture of the matter. As I read Harold McAllister’s story I found myself able to relate when I was around his age. Coming from a single parent working class home my mother also strongly believed in providing good care for me and my siblings and it was accomplished under the natural growth model. My mom like Harold’s mom provided love, food, clothing and shelter. We were involved in organized activities and our extended family was always a phone call away. Family was and still is very important among us. We didn’t always get the things that we wanted however our basic needs were always met. As adults now with our own families each of us fall in different social classes. I can honestly say that it is because of the decisions and choices we have made as

The unspoken war between the wealthy, and poverty stricken has always caused tensions between everyone, including children. “Hush your mouth! Don’t matter who they are anybody sets foot in the house yo’ company, and don’t let me catch you remarkin on their ways like you all high and mighty” (24). As you can see, the divide between rich, and poor were fairly rigid to the point where kids noticed it, and poked fun at this very serious issue that still faces the world today. To conclude, the financial statuses of many often determined how you were treated with any given social

In an article done by The New York Times, students were asked to describe what family means to them. One student responded with the following, “A family is a group of individuals who support each other and are responsible for each other. Its members may or may not be blood related and

I am one of thirteen people that make up the sum of the Clotfelter clan: eleven biological kids plus mom and dad. To me my life is moderately normal, but to others, mine is a mysteriously peculiar one. To have a bigger household is to have a home filled with love and companionship. Though growing up in a large family has its negatives, I’ve grown to understand that those problematic things have equipped me for the dependability of adulthood. Being a part of a big family can be chaotic at times, financially strenuous and occasionally overwhelming, but there are some awfully great benefits to living in a full house.

Imagine two children: John lives in a three-story house, attends soccer practice every Thursday, is an amateur cello player, and has the opportunity to travel across the country with his parents. Elliot, on the other hand, lives in a one-story home in need of constant repair, returns home every day from school to clean, cook, and make sure his younger sister does her homework while both parents are working blue-collar jobs until bedtime. From the outside, it may seem that John has the upper hand since his family could be classified as higher-middle class and he has more social experiences; however, Elliot manages to support his family from a young age, learning the responsibility and independence. Which child will succeed more in life under society’s definition?

The authors brought up an interesting point, in which in contemporary American society, at the core of equality of opportunity is equality of access to education. Through imposing restriction on what parents are allowed to do for their children, we are creating an equal playing field for all children. However, this certainly wouldn’t bold well with wealthy families, as they should have the freedom to do what they want with their money. Personally, I think it all boil down to the wealth distribution in our society. Over the years, the rich continues to get richer while the poor are getting poorer, as the wealth disparity between upper and middle income American has hit a record high, in which upper-income families are seven times wealthier

Journal Synapsis 4 In chapter ten the textbook describes a family as two or more people living together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. I believe that family are also individuals that make you feel loved or happy in ways that no one else makes you feel. Its more then just money that can buy these feelings for a short moment that also seems to be a tremendous issues form long ago. The person with the most things often has a really big family, but the thing is that those people tend to have problems with each other like addictions, depression because although they might have many things many power there is no love.

A family can come in many forms, from nuclear to extended, from single parent and even divorced families. Family has an enormous influence in shaping our lives, identities and ultimately who we will turn out to be. Family categories usually fall into three groups: the nuclear family consisting of a mother, father, and siblings living together. The extended family, consisting two or more families live together such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, or other relatives, and single-parent families.

If you have siblings you will have to share everything, so you get less; but you also get less of the bad things. Siblings can support and comfort each in times of trouble. The elder siblings learn to care for the younger ones and the younger ones learn to respect their elder siblings and have someone to look up to besides their parents. You are more balanced person than an only child.