Unequal Childhoods Lareau Summary

Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Univ of California Press.

In a country that is known for its equal opportunity for all, this research revealed the ways in which children are not given equal chances to be successful throughout their childhood. Annette Lareau set out with the intentions of determining how social class, race, and upbringings impact the likelihood for success in her work, Unequal Childhoods (2011). Over a time, she was able to study several families and how different factors played into their lives. Throughout this extensive research, Lareau revealed on how social class and a child’s upbringing pave the way for their future success.

This book involved mostly naturalistic observations in which a team of researchers examined how family lives and childhood varied between social classes. The research involved an extensive study of twelve different families who were members of the middle, working, or poor classes. Additionally, the families also came from multiple different racial backgrounds. This focus allowed researchers to study patterns between families

The study showed that children from middle-class families were more likely to attend a nice school, participate in extracurricular activities, and be better educated. However, children from working-class and poor families typically had to find ways to entertain themselves. The findings from the research supported Lareau’s original thesis that social class had a greater impact on children than race because the middle-class families that were studied had different racial backgrounds. Lareau explained this in Unequal Childhoods (2011) by stating that “Class, in some instances, is more important than race” (Lareau p. 256). Another finding from the study builds upon this idea and elaborates on the two ways that children can be