This study guide is not meant to be an exhaustive list of all possible items on the test It does however reflect key points and terms from the readings and lectures assigned for this exam Exam Three Study Guide Parenting and the central responsibility of the family Broad cultural shifts for marriage from parenting to self fulfillment most people used to look for a partner to get a home and have kids but now more get married for love and look for a partner to find happiness and self fulfillment children as public good from this perspective how is good parenting defined Pg 269 In agricultural societies having children is a good thing because children directly contribute to the family s economic potential In industrial and post industrial societies children provide their parents with psychological benefits serving avoid loneliness Cultural importance of parenting pg 269 274 275 Pronatalists pro kids Antinatalists anti kids p275 Children are blessings childlessness is a curse US is not as pronatalist as societies in which women s status and social position are determined almost exclusively by their reproductive capacities and mothering US continues to embrace certain pronatalist beliefs and practices the culture still portrays having children as important to self fulfillment at necessary for the future survival of the society policies designed to prevent or at least limit the childbearing of certain people some people don t want gays to and welfare people to have kids Comparing children raised by gay parents and heterosexual parents Researchers have consistently found few or no differences in the development of gender identity gender role behavior sexual orientation self concept intelligence peer relations personality characteristics likelihood of being sexually abused or behavioral problems Transition into parenting challenges and effects on marriage Picker article pg 282 283 Martial quality declines after child is born spouses consider children a less important contributor to a happy marriage than faithfulness sexual compatibility sharing household chores adequate income good housing and shared interest Physical toll birth breast feeding postpartum recovery lack of sleep Visitors family increased flow of guests and visitors can make new parenthood an exhausting challenge Immediate demands adjustments once a parent always a parent parenthood is more difficult today then before parenting has become a increasingly private rather than a community obligation consequently parents alone are held accountable for every aspect of the moral and intellectual development of children often with little community or institutional support Equality More choices more adjustments more negotiation And Now for the Hard Part Know the functions of Parenting what are they Kids are a public good In this context good parenting means 3 steps method of discipline Provide emotional support Socialization Setting clear standards Enforcing them consistently without harsh punishment What is the most effective Produce kids who function well in society Gender roles usually provide basic framework any preexisting differences are exaggerated Fill parents place in society class jobs Socialization of children pg 307 assume with fixed entity their parents now commonly occur in other social settings school with peers and friends in front of tv agents of socialization Social class and parenting 1 socializing force is the family process of raising a child within US society is strongly influenced by a family s socioeconomic standing Job experiences affect childrearing values Socialization of children is to fill the same position as parents fill Concerted Cultivation vs Natural Growth parenting styles back in the day kids were used to make money ex toddlers and tiaras big issues all based off foundation with communication being 1 society benefits from this Class more than race determines parent s childrearing practices Lareau argues that middle class children have advantages in school and later job market concerted cultivation middle class high priority for kids gaining cultural activities land a better job in the future after school activities will challenge people natural growth lower class as long as you have GPA no time if working or not have job tired they care but they are limited maybe raised that way themselves to be that way big issues Communication Drugs and Violence Sexual Activity Sexual Predators Sexual Orientation Gender Issues Adoption Foster Care Obesity Nutrition Exercise ADHD and medicating children Dropping out of school Discipline Issues Bullying Domestic violence Childcare and afterschool Poverty Created Kinships fictive kin created kinship Kinship ties that people have to construct actively Greater emphasis on Created Kinships and the importance of kinship based on doing the work of kinship fictive kin people other than legal or blood relatives who play family roles by providing for the emotional and other needs of others Childcare daycare complexity benefits pg 312 Parents must often weave a complex often unreliable patchwork in which their children move among relatives informal meetings and formal center care sometimes all in one day Poor children often benefit from day care because it is more enriching than home Childcare workers are often undertrained low paid and have a high attrition rate Latchkey kids and Afterschool programs kids got home open the house and wait for parents to get home no supervision Cost of childcare childcare is a very complex situation with the increase in dual earner families more and more children are being cared for at least some of the time by people other than their parents found that children who spend most of their time in child care are significantly more likely than children cared for primarily at home to exhibit traits like aggression defiance and disobedience the key to a child s development both inside and outside the home is the quality of care he or she receives What is the graying of America Pg334 the face that the US population is getting older Decrease in number of children born and increase in number of people surviving to old age When the U S declared its independence in 1776 half of the population was under the age of sixteen By 1900 4 percent of our population was over the age of sixty five Today 13 percent of our population is over the age of sixty five By 2030 it is projected that 20 percent of our population will be over the age of sixty five Two