In the article, “Diverging Development: The Not-so-invisible Hand of Social Class in the United States”, Furstenberg said that social class is quickly beginning to shape the development of children, even before the child is born. Classism is alive in the form of less opportunities for lower social classes, forming a class that isn’t necessarily unintelligent, but uneducated. There exists a stereotype against those of lower social classes that these people do not strive to rise in the social hierarchy, and they often receive sub-par assistance, in part, through this prejudice. The article argues that social class is part of a child’s development, and those in lower social classes cannot help children develop as well as children of higher social classes.
A child living in a disadvantaged family faces adversity and developmental challenges from the beginning:
Before birth, the neonatal child is subject to less-than-par or non-existent health care. If the mother seeks health care for her unborn, it is often low-cost, and sub-standard. The mother might additionally be uneducated regarding her own health, affecting the baby.
After birth, the first year – an essential year in childhood development – might find a disadvantaged child receiving less-than-substantial supplements, important to brain development. The child begins life behind peers through a lack of proper nutrition.
Ages one through five, the preschool years, might find the disadvantaged child without the services of peers, such as preschool, or educational tools to help boost intelligence. The child suffers from the parent’s lack of funds and knowledge in increasing brain activity.
As school begins, the child finds him or herself behind peers, and often requires extra help in school. The parents have not been taught how to help the child, and depend on the school for support.
Throughout school, the child is disadvantages socially, due to a misunderstanding of social classes, undereducation, and an underdeveloped sense of education. The pattern of impoverished low-class continues to cycle from the parents to the child.
Work Cited
Furstenberg, Jr., F. (2010). Diverging development: The not-so-invisible hand of social class in the United States. In B.J. Risman (Ed.), families as they really are (pp. 276-294). New York: W.W. Norton & Co
