Unequal Childhoods: Concerted Cultivation vs. Natural Growth

Introduction to Lareau's Framework

In Annette Lareau's (2003) book Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, the author discusses "concerted cultivation," a term that describes how middle-class parents tend to raise their children. Concerted cultivation refers to parents focusing on developing their children's talents in a deliberate, organized fashion. Lareau states that "organized activities, established and controlled by mothers and fathers, dominate the lives of middle-class children," ensuring that their experiences foster growth. From this, "a robust sense of entitlement takes root in the children" (Lareau, 2003). Lareau notes that this concerted cultivation begins to shape children's behavior in institutional settings, such as schools, "where middle-class children learn to question adults and address them as equals" (2003).

This approach stands in sharp contrast to what Lareau calls "natural growth" — the parenting philosophy more common among lower-class families. Parents who practice natural growth do not focus on deliberately cultivating their children's talents because, for them, "the crucial responsibilities of parenthood do not lie in eliciting their children's feelings, opinions, and thoughts. Rather, they see a clear boundary between adults and children" (Lareau, 2003). Lareau suggests that middle-class parents use concerted cultivation to rear their children, while lower-class parents, facing greater economic constraints, rely on natural growth. Ultimately, Lareau argues that child-rearing patterns differ based on a family's social class, and that these differences produce advantages for middle-class children and disadvantages for lower-class children.

Concerted Cultivation and Language in the Williams Household

Alexander Williams is one of the children documented in Lareau's book. Alexander comes from an upper-middle-class family. One of the primary tactics his parents use in parenting is language — specifically, using words to discipline and guide their son. Lareau (2003) notes, "This approach often leads to extensive negotiation, bargaining, and whining in the course of daily family life." Lareau suggests early in the book that this method — which can be viewed as a form of concerted cultivation because it places children on a similar communicative level as adults — cultivates a certain sense of entitlement. Alexander's whining and negotiating reflects what his parents have modeled and encouraged. In school, Alexander would likely be more inclined to question authority figures, believing his perspective to be as valid as that of his teachers.

Importantly, while whining might be viewed as an undesirable trait, Lareau (2003) argues that middle-class children who exhibit this behavior are simultaneously learning how to use language in ways that lower-class children are not. They are also acquiring a critical skill: how to negotiate with adults. This skill, Lareau (2003) suggests, "might be useful in institutional encounters in the future," giving these children a long-term structural advantage in navigating schools, workplaces, and other institutions.

Natural Growth and Communication in the McAllister Household

Lareau (2003) compares Alexander and his family to Harold McAllister's family, who are poor. The author observes that the McAllister family uses language in a more functional, transactional manner. In the McAllister household, children did not talk back to adults, as Alexander regularly did. When bad behavior arose, Harold's parents responded with threats of punishment — sometimes physical — and the children were kept clearly in their place. Interestingly, Lareau (2003) notes that whining was actually more pervasive in middle-class homes than in lower-class homes.

Lareau (2003) also observes that in middle-class homes there is a great deal of talking interrupted by occasional silence, whereas in lower-class homes there is a great deal of silence interrupted by occasional speech. This pattern is clearly illustrated in the McAllister household. When Harold complains about a teacher, his mother simply listens. By contrast, Alexander's mother would have pressed him to articulate exactly why he feels as he does and what might be done about it — an approach that consistently reinforces verbal expression and self-advocacy.

Reference

Lareau, Annette. (2003). Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. University of California Press.