Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Second Edition, with an Update a Decade Later Audiobook

" Good read, although her findings on motherhood may be colored by the fact that she herself is not a mother "

" some interesting findings but extremely repetitive, she beats you over the head with the message "

" It was an interesting ethnography of 12 families. I found it interesting. I need more information about the process of conducting ethnographies and conclusions drawn from such studies. Her assertion of parenting styles of middle class vs. working/poor classes (concerted cultivation vs. accomplishment of natural growth)I found intriguing. I think it is worth reading by teachers and human service professionals. "

" Makes some good points, but the author's tripping all over herself trying to avoid siding with the middle class was hard to take. She says several times that physical punishment used to be the norm--as though this makes it okay? I mean she shows plenty of concern that one of the children can barely read even though illiteracy "would have been virtually universal in certain time periods" (as she says of the practice of hitting children). I mean I appreciate her point that most books of this type are going to be written by middle class people so we have to try to avoid normalizing that culture, but her attempts are clumsy. Another example is that middle class children's "sense of entitlement" is consistently used to explain why they feel comfortable asking questions of a doctor. Really? We need to stigmatize the ability to properly interact with a doctor? Though she mentions a working-class person's ability, in contrast, to argue with a landlord or cable company, she does not talk about a sense of entitlement to explain the behavior in those cases. I end up feeling that the book begs the questions. Yes, the middle class is in sync with major cultural institutions and this gives them advantages. But discussions of what stops others from doing the same don't precisely tie into the thesis. Yes, economic constraints keep their children from expensive extracurriculars. Yes, the parents' education and occupational experience limits their understanding of professional jargon (a point that really could have been made more of in the "What is to be done" section). But the author seems to admit that these have to do with socioeconomic status. Why the working-class and poor families can't make cultural adjustments, the way the middle-class did, like not physically punishing their children or asking them questions to improve their verbal skills is an explanation that is started but never really resolves. Maybe the problem is that if I took a test on this book I would have trouble answering the question "How did the researchers determine a subject's class?" If class is based on cultural things, then a working-class person performs what the author wants to call working-class culture _by definition_. Thus the difficulty of discussing class in America. "

" Very academic in nature. A good look at different parenting styles and the advantages they give a child. Much prefered and still we rise as far as insight to low income familes. "

" Excellent book and a lively read. We take a lot of our notions of what is childhood for granted. Different social classes have very different notions of what is necessary for a happy childhood. "

" (just a few chapters for class) "

" Such a fascinating study! I wish I had read this before my two years in the classroom. "

" I just re-read this for a class (I had read maybe half of it in an undergraduate class) and I think it just remains a beautiful piece of research into why class matters. It does it in this almost mundane way where they carefully document the day to day life of 12 families. Fascinating. "

" Excellent ethnography with quantitative backup. Good science and a fascinating tale at the same time. "

" An interesting ethnology, but showcases a completely biased researcher who makes no bones about criticizing parental decisions. "

" A modern masterpiece of sociology. "

" Another book I have to read for class. It reads very slowly. The print is small and tight, and the writer is writing to professionals in her field, not to the everyday person. The information is good, but difficult to slog through. "

" We read this in my child language development class in college, focusing on the second section which is about (duh) language. Really interesting examinations of the differences between how middle-class children are raised versus lower-class children. "

" This book provides a great level of insight into the vast differences children face in their upbringing and the results of the differences. It is a little redundant, but worth the read. "

" More research heavy than I thought it would be. Interesting topic. Interesting observations. "

" Amazing how societal influences shape the lives of children and either hinder or help their social mobility, confidence, and financial status. Makes me think about my own situation and where I would be (socially and psychologically) if I grew up in a different area/lifestyle. "

" Great read. Informative, thorough, eye-opening. Her chapter on methodology was really helpful. "

" The best book I've read to date on class and race in America. The unexpected glimpse into parenting styles took the book from 'good' to 'great'. "

" Such a well-written and interesting book to read. It addresses the inequalities between working class and middle class children and helps put words to feelings I had when I was growing up. I will always have this as a part of my book collection. "

" Phenomenal. This book is a series of very interesting case studies that reads like a novel. I was hooked from start to finish, and learned SO much. I highly recommend it. "

" sociology still seems like kind of a crock to me, but this book rearranged my thinking "