Chapter 12

Chapter twelve starts defining the term role conflict as the frustrations and uncertainties a person experiences when the expectations of two or more roles are incompatible. Role strain is defined as conflicts that someone feels within a role. It is stated that a parent may feel a role strain when he or she must attend to the needs of both a younger and older child who have different schedules. The four factors that contribute to parents’ role strain include: unrealistic role expectations, decreased authority, increased responsibility, and high parenting standards. Then the chapter discusses some of the ideal and realistic roles of motherhood and fatherhood. Then the chapter discusses three perspectives that have been influential in explaining child development. George Herbert Mead forced on social interaction as the core of the developing human being. Jean Piaget was interested in the child’s cognitive development, and Erik Erikson combined elements of psychological and sociological perspectives to create a theory that encompasses adulthood as well as childhood. The text then goes into talking about parenting and social class explaining that social scientists typically measure social class using socioeconomic status, an overall rank of an individual’s position in society based on income, education, and occupation. Social Scientists have identified four general parenting styles: authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved. The chapter then goes into discussing some of the myths parents have about babies. Some of the myths include: 1) You can tell in infancy how bright a child is likely to be later on 2) The more stimulation a baby gets, the better 3) Parents who pick up crying babies will spoil them 4) Special talents surface early or not at all 5) Parental conflicts don’t affect babies. The text then goes into talking about how it is to parent a child and parent a teenager. It is stated that today, young adults are living at home longer than in the past. It is said that individual and macro factors explains the delay in many Americans’ transition to adulthood. The chapter then shifts gears to talk about parenting in lesbian and gay families. In general, gay and lesbian parenting is similar to heterosexual parenting. Parents must make a living and juggle work and domestic relationships. It is also stated that despite the particular difficulties that children in gay families face, their peer and other social relationships are similar to those of children raised in heterosexual families. The chapter then goes into defining the term parenting style as a general approach to interacting with and disciplining children. The chapter then shifts to focus on childcare. It is stated that higher-income families are more likely to use childcare arrangements, including childcare centers. It is said that contemporary issues about children’s well being include the positive and negative impacts of electronic media, bullying and cyber bullying, and high child poverty rates. The chapter ends with talking about the pros and cons of foster homes.

I found the section where it talked about baby myths to be extremely interesting. Particularly I found the myth that stated parents who pick up crying babies will spoil them. I never knew that was a myth. I also thought that was a fact. It was really interesting to read about how they disprove that myth. It was definitely something I did not know about before reading this chapter.

The question that I have for the class is what are your feelings about foster care? Would you ever consider being foster parents? Why or why not?

Maria Nicholas