Unequal childhoods : class race and family life Class does make a difference in the lives and futures of American children. Drawing on in depth observations of black and white middle class working class and poor families Unequal Childhoods explores this fact offering a picture of childhood today. Here are the frenetic families managing their childrens hectic schedules of leisure activities; and here are families with plenty of time but little economic security. Lareau shows how middle class parents whether black or white engage in a process of concerted cultivation designed to draw out childrens talents and skills while working class and poor families rely on the accomplishment of natural growth in which a childs development unfolds spontaneously as long as basic comfort food and shelter are provided. Each of these approaches to childrearing brings its own benefits and its own drawbacks. In identifying and analyzing differences between the two Lareau demonstrates the power and limits of social class in shaping the lives of Americas children. The first edition of Unequal Childhoods was an instant classic portraying in riveting detail the unexpected ways in which social class influences parenting in white and African American families. A decade later Annette Lareau has revisited the same families and interviewed the original subjects to examine the impact of social class in the transition to adulthood. Cover Contents Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgments 1. Concerted Cultivation and the Accomplishment of Natural Growth 2. Social Structure and Daily Life PART I. ORGANIZATION OF DAILY LIFE 3. The Hectic Pace of Concerted Cultivation: Garrett Tallinger 4. A Childs Pace: Tyrec Taylor 5. Childrens Play Is for Children: Katie Brindle PART II. LANGUAGE USE 6. Developing a Child: Alexander Williams 7. Language as a Conduit for Social Life: Harold McAllister PART III. FAMILIES AND INSTITUTIONS 8. Concerted Cultivation in Organizational Spheres: Stacey Marshall 9. Concerted Cultivation Gone Awry: Melanie Handlon 10. Letting Educators Lead the Way: Wendy Driver 11. Beating with a Belt Fearing the School : Little Billy Yanelli 12. The Power and Limits of Social Class PART IV. UNEQUAL CHILDHOODS AND UNEQUAL ADULTHOODS 13. Class Differences in Parents Information and Intervention in the Lives of Young Adults 14. Reflections on Longitudinal Ethnography and the Families Reactions to Unequal Childhoods 15. Unequal Childhoods in Context: Results from a Quantitative Analysis Afterword Appendix A. Methodology: Enduring Dilemmas in Fieldwork Appendix B. Theory: Understanding the Work of Pierre Bourdieu Appendix C. Supporting Tables Appendix D. Tables for the Second Edition Notes Revised Bibliography Index A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U W Z.