Contemporary South Africa is filled with diverse cultural differences in the population group, meaning that there are a vast amount of methods or types of manners in which children are brought up and cared for. In many instances it is evident that racecialised trends and socio economic standing determines how children are brought up and cared for in their different circumstances. This essay will thoroughly explore the racialised trends of family life and care in todays South Africa. Focus will be placed on how care differs with different class distinctions, gender roles, norms and their influence on access to different types of care. The role of families, the market and the state in the provision of care for children in South Africa will also be addressed.
Care differs amongst different race groups. Each race group can be said to have their own trends when it comes to caring for children
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Family form is mainly determined by income rather than race, “Income is now a more accurate predictor of family form than race group.”(Brey et al, 2010, 94) Parents in different social classes have different beliefs in how the bearing and rearing of children should be approached. Childcare in low-income households is generally focused on “natural growth” while children in the middle class are cared for by “concerted cultivation”. Annette Lareau defines “concerted cultivation” as the upbringing and caring of children through extra-mural activities, which enhance skills and the ability to learn, and is arranged and financed by parents. “Natural growth” was described as allowing a Childs development to unfold spontaneously. Children in the middle-class have more opportunities thus putting them in a position to have a higher social standing and achieve more than children in the lower
The middle class consisted of people who worked 9 to 5 jobs, and were able to afford entertainment. Meaning that this was the first time children were able to start actually living what we consider today as childhood, now that they don’t have to work in factories (“Impact of the Great Depression on Family and Home”1). However, during the great depression many middle class workers lost their jobs or had to work more hours for less money. Robbing these children of the freedoms they were previously given. Unfortunately, many children were pulled from school so they could get jobs to help provide for the family, some were sent away to live with other relatives, and many ran away (“What Were the Effects on the Children of the Great Depression?” 1).
Unequal Childhoods is an ethnography outlining the study done by Annette Lareau which researched how socioeconomic classes impact parenting among both white and African American families. She used both participant observation and interviewing. 12 families participated in this study where she came to conclusions on whether they displayed parenting styles of concerted cultivation or natural growth based of their socioeconomic status. Concerted cultivation is a parenting style where the parent(s) are fully invested in creating as much opportunity for their child as possible, but results in a child with a sense of entitlement. An example of this would be a parent who places their children in a wide array of extracurricular activities and/or actively speaks to educators about the accommodations their child needs to effectively learn.
With the author’s writing strategy of giving out many different examples it helps people see how families from each different social class effect their children’s
Consistent with the value of personalismo, parents stress the importance of a good relationship with their worker and the implications to their case. Child welfare policy is another factor that can impact workers’ abilities to provide culturally congruent services. Conflicts with child welfare workers may arise as policies that guide the public child welfare system practices are child centered and reflect main-stream values influenced by individualistic world views. The findings from this qualitative study indicate that substantial change is required if we truly aim to provide culturally congruent and relevant services to the families served by the public child welfare system. Towards this aim, child welfare practice and policies need (1) to be informed by the families’ perspectives, and (2) to address child welfare workers’ need for training and support.
According to Gregory Mantsios in “Class in America: Myths and Realities,” social class has a large influence on your educational achievements through life. Examining the test scores of half a million children the, poor and rich, also known as the bottom and the upper quartile, Richard de Lone found the crucial influence of social status on SAT scores. Another study by William Sewell comparing the rich and poor found that the upper class was two times as likely to get more training after high school and four times as likely to complete a postgraduate degree primarily due to their socioeconomic class. Decided at birth from your class standing to your life chances.
“Experiences in early childhood…lay critical foundations for the entire life course” (CSDH,2008). The novel “Lullabies for little criminals," written by Heather O’ Neill, examines the effects of two social determinants on Baby’s life. Poverty interacts with poor education in Baby’s life, building an underdevelopment childhood for her to grow up with. It reflects children in our society who could get less life choice under the influence of poverty and poor education. Kohen (2002) says that a safer and more cohesive neighborhood has better child-development outcomes.
Children of any culture require nurturing in order to grow to become a productive member of society. However, In African American communities often children are left to fend for themselves. In a one-parent home all responsibilities fall on the shoulders of one person, by default creating a
On the other hand, African Americans, are now twenty times as likely to live in poor community. A large number of African American families, coming from the underprivilaged quarter of comminity an ages ago, continue to live in such community today. Although, for African african families moving out of such community is much more difficult for them. But only a small number of white families who lived in the poor quarter of community an ages ago still do so. This is a clear example of how race can be related to social
In a western society that continuous to renounce communalism and embrace individualism, it is easily noticed that the problems faced by few are ignored by the many. This ignorance, intentional or not, is allowing communal problems to accelerate the pace. However, the issue at hand is one that affects you whether or not you are aware of it; if you are an American, or in any western society for that matter. It affects nearly twenty percent of the under eighteen population in the United States and costs taxpayers on average 14 billion dollars per year. As a Parent, it can tack $19,000 onto the total of raising each child.
The Concerted Cultivation of Superiority Whether they chose to spoil their children with love, objects, or opportunities, parents want to give their children the best childhood to prepare them for adulthood. Typically, the middle class and upper class use a parenting method Annette Lareau calls “concerted cultivation,” meaning that parents foster children’s talents and interests. Most parents that use this style of rearing follow similar routines such as maneuvering their schedules to alote multiple extracurricular activities, emphasizing the use of vocabulary and reasoning skills, and socializing their children to be comfortable around adults. While these practices seem to be successful in creating and maintaining class reproduction, they
Vonnie McLoyd discusses in the book Child Development that black families are more likely to face poverty in America and the effects that poverty has on those children. McLoyd states that children that have faced poverty in their lives can have “impaired socioemotional functioning” (McLoyd 311). As a result from job loss creating parental stress, parents often become
We live in a complex, unpredictable world, filled with an array of family styles and personalities. Whether or not we recognize it, the family in which one is raised or currently resides plays a pivotal role in their development and opportunities. While we should not blame our circumstance on where we came from, it is crucial that we understand how our childhood influences why we are the way we are. One phenomenon that affects several families, particularly ones with low-income, is parentification. Parentification, also known as the role-reversal of a parent and a child, is not inherently harmful for a child, but it is important to look at the situation objectively and consider the risk-factors.
Firstly, Huh and Reid (2000) argue that talking about adoption and having racial discussions at home is beneficial for the adoptee. Their argument is supported by Liow (1994) who contends that children’s knowledge of their racial and cultural roots is important in forming their personal identities and such knowledge should be conveyed in a manner that coincides with the children’s understanding ability. Secondly, parents should teach their child how to cope with racial discrimination. Studies have shown that the inability to cope with discrimination will result in the child being unable to deal with racism in a way that protects their self-esteem and positive racial identity (Butler-Sweet, 2011). There are also other protective factors like children’s involvement in cultural activities, parents having friends or colleagues who are of the child’s race, being in racially integrated schools and living in a multi-cultural neighbourhood (Huh & Reid, 2000; Liow, 1994; Robinson,
The lower class works for their living and spends what money they have on things they need. Whereas the upper class, usually has a higher education and better paying jobs than the other classes in America. Thus, heritage plays a big part in reasons of social classes.
They think that for that technology have the ferules and there are a lot of education inequalities. Also, family background influences cultural knowledge and perceptions. Middle class knowledge of norms and customs allows students with this background to better navigate the school system. Parents from this class and above also have social networks that prove to be more beneficial than networks based in lower classes. These connections may help students gain access to the right schools, activities, etc additionally, children from poorer families, who are often minorities, come from families that distrust institutions.