Parents: There is a social inequality between a parent and child. The parent is the more powerful individual when it comes to daily decisions and basic household rules. For example, a parent enforces a child’s school attendance, what they leave the house clothed in, and more. Also, parents are monetarily superior to children. While not true exploitation, as the theory suggests, parents do offer their children allowances or pay for completing chores, getting good grades and more. Also, parents get satisfaction out of their children excelling at various aspects of life, even if it is an aspect for which the child has no interest. Sports is an excellent example of this; many parents have forced their children into sports even though the child has little or no interest in them. The child is then left to either feel inadequate, or try to live up to the expectation placed upon them.
Symbolic Theory:
Parents: According to this theory, parents are going to act to their child based upon the meaning the child has for them, and the meaning is going to be affected by social interactions which modify interpretation. This makes sense since there is little doubt that almost every parent out their loves their children very deeply. This love can manifest in many ways, depending on culture and lifestyle. For instance, a couple who always wanted a baby but thought they could not get pregnant and does is going to treat their child differently than a Chinese couple who has a girl. While the former couple is going to dote over their child, the Chinese couple may resent having a girl and give her up for adoption in the hopes of trying for a boy.
