Annette uses a gardening metaphor to show how low and working-class families sought the "accomplishment of spontaneous development," but middle-class families pursued "concerted nurturing." She notes that both techniques have advantages and disadvantages for children and their families, and she strives to balance them. She says that you can't force family life in ways that are meaningful to everyone involved. Lareau's work has been widely cited by other social scientists who have tried to understand how class affects children's development. Some have used her ideas about "spontaneous growth" and "concerted cultivation" to explain differences they have found between rich and poor kids. Others have used her ideas about the importance of balancing family effort to avoid giving one role too much attention while allowing others time off. As with many scientific studies, what Lareau observed was not exactly the same as what most people think it is. For example, she said that working-class parents tend to let their children be more independent than middle-class ones do. This isn't true of all working class parents, however. There are also upper-middle-class parents who let their children become too independent. And there are even some wealthy parents who insist on spoon-feeding their children every meal and bedtime story ever since they were babies. The point is that Lareau didn't just observe one group of people and then write off all the other classes as being the same.