Chapter 12 is all about raising children, which has many rewards but also some costs. The chapter begins by discussing the interactions that different family members have with one another. Often in sociology, Role Theory is used to explain these different patterns of interaction. Role conflict occurs when someone plays many conflicting roles and as a consequence experiences frustration. Role strain is when someone experiences conflict within a role. An example of role strain may be when a parent wants to be both a friend and an authority figure to their child at the same time. Some more potential difficulties of parenting may include unrealistic role expectations, decreased authority, increased responsibility, and high parenting standards. The next concept discussed is both motherhood and fatherhood. The book notes Kathleen Gerson’s three basic types of fathers. These are breadwinner fathers, autonomous fathers and involved fathers. The chapter goes on to describe different theories of development. These include Mead’s theory of social self with involves the infant as a black slate who is developed through interactions with others, Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development. The book also notes that parenting styles differ across ethnicity and social class. Differences between races may include time spent with children, and the monitoring of children’s activities. The book continues to explain that parenting changes over the life course. The book points out the four parenting styles that have been noted by social sciences. The four different parenting styles are Authoritarian, Permissive, Authoritative and Uninvolved. Discipline of children is also discussed within this chapter. There is a general consensus within the scientific community that other disciplinary methods are considered more effective than physical punishment. Another issue discussed in this chapter is that of current social issues and what effect they have on a child’s well being. One of these issues is how advances in electronic media effects a child’s well being. According to the chapter, 68% of children younger than two years old watch 2-3 hours of television daily. In homes where the TV is constantly on, parents tend to spend less time reading to their children. The chapter concludes asserting that changes regarding child rearing practices have occurred throughout the past decade that include both the inclusion of fathers in child rearing and unfortunately more at-risk children.
Something New/Interesting
Something new that I learned was something in the section on foster care. A new program for foster children involves contacting the child’s biological non-resident father and giving him custody. This father hadn’t lived in the home the child had been removed from and sometimes doesn’t even know that the child existed. In a study of 4 states, 46% of such contacted fathers became involved in getting custody of the child.
Discussion Point
Once again it seems as if the United States is trailing other industrialized countries in important indicators of well-being. As pointed out in this chapter , the US is ranked first among 16 industrialized countries with the greatest proportion of children living in poverty. Why do you think this is?
-Ali Mosser
I think a big factor with child poverty is that the US places so much responsibility on parents to independently provide everything for their children. While this may be a good or a bad thing, I think that it definitely does contribute negatively to the poverty problem. Like someone mentioned in class this week, some other countries help out parents who have children, and maybe that's why they are better off.
ReplyDeleteI think a lack of government assistance as well as support of minorities plays a major role in the poverty level being so high in America. In a class I took called Minority Groups we learned about the disadvantages that are placed upon minorities that affect their well being and progression in society. For example, toxic waste dumps being placed near low income neighborhood which is where poverty takes place. There's always been a gap between those who live in poverty and those who do not. there aren't enough individuals doing things for people who live in poverty. Resources are also limited and you also see more organizations and individuals doing good for their communities rather than the government. Also, I think the government places focus on helping those who live in poverty, which they do a poor job of, instead of providing programs to help these people out of poverty through aspects other than assisting them financially. You can give a person money, but that doesn't mean they'll come out of poverty if they're not equipped with the education to progress in other aspects of society.
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