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Rich Kids, Poor Kids
February 2, 2016
If I had to make a general rule for living and working with children, it might be this:
Be wary of saying or doing anything to a child that you would not do to another adult, whose good opinion and affection you valued.
-John Holt
-John Holt
"The lives of children from rich and poor American families look more different than they have in decades," observes Claire Cain Miller in her New York Times article "Class Differences in Child-Rearing Are on the Rise."
"Well-off families are ruled by calendars, with children enrolled in ballet, soccer and after-school programs, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. There are usually two parents, who spend a lot of time reading to children and worrying about their anxiety levels and hectic schedules.
"In poor families, however, children tend to spend their time at home or with extended family, the survey found. They are more likely to grow up in neighborhoods that their parents say aren't great for raising children, and their parents worry about them getting shot, beaten up or in trouble with the law."
Contributed by Zvia Dover
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Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsUnited States
I've been in public education for 25 years (including publicly funded preschool programs). Here's what comes to my mind when I read this:
1) There has been an increase in teen parenthood, which has contributed to the increase in extended families who live together under one roof.
2) There has been an increase in parents who waited until they had established careers and more financial stability to have children and/or get married.
3) It's logical that each of these groups of people would probably approach parenting very differently and to have very different means of supporting their children (financially, emotionally, etc.).
4) The vast majority of families in our country fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.
5) Yes, "well-off" families can afford to do/provide great things for their children. But "poor" families have access to resources such as Early Head Start, Head Start, public preschool, and subsidized child care.
What are we doing to help the parents in the middle?
CSBC
Denver, CO, United States
As usual, the New York Times gets it wrong! I am not sure who their fiends are (although this may be news to them - not all of America is suburban New York!), but they certainly don't hang around the families I do. Sure, there are the ends of all extremes, but most families I know are in the middle: struggling to make ends meet while providing what is best for their children's upbringing and education.
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