Social+Class+&+Families

The Four-Class Model

The four-class model includes the upper-class, middle-class, working-class and lower-class families. The upper-class families are “families that have amassed wealth and privilege and that often have substantial prestige as well. Tend to own large, spacious homes, have expensive clothing and furnishings.” (Cherlin 120) Middle-class families are “families whose connection to the economy provides them with a secure, comfortable income and allows them to live well above a subsistence level. Can usually afford privileges such as a nice house, car, clothes, and a college education for the children and vacations.” (Cherlin 120) Working-class families are “families whose income can reliably provide only for the minimum needs of what other people see as a decent life: a modest house or an apartment, one or two cars, enough money to enroll children at a state or community college.” (Cherilin 120) Lower-class families are “families whose connection to the economy is so tenuous that they cannot reliably provide for a decent life. They may live in deteriorated housing, may not have adequate clothing for winter, and may need government-issued food stamps to purchase enough food. (Cherilin 121)

 Parents, professionals and families can work together to let the community know that people are in need. I know that a lot of communities have ways to help out lower-class families by having church groups and other community groups volunteer and raise money to help out the people that are in need. People in the community donate and volunteer, but I think more people should do this. It is important because some people don’t have very much or anything at all and those people need help.

Social Class and Child Rearing The way parents raise their children is often impacted significantly by the social class in which they live. According to our in class notes, it is more class than race that impacts child rearing practices here in the United States. Parents who have a college education are more likely to encourage their children’s autonomy and ability to be independent, whereas, in general, parents who have a lower level of education tend to encourage their children to be rule followers and to conform. It is important to recognize that these qualities by no means apply to all families and situations and are simply a generalization. According to our notes, if a child is being raised in a middle class family their family is likely to put a high amount of value on that child’s talents and opinions as well as on skills and culture. In working class and lower class families the focus is more on the environment and caring for their children in a loving fashion. (Class notes) Once again, this is a generalization.

Understanding how social class affects how parents raise their children can be very beneficial to those of us in the field as well as to anyone working with families in any aspect of their life. It is important for all of us to realize that not every family is the same and that everyone has different ways of doing things. Just because these parenting styles are often different than our own, it does not mean they are wrong. In order for us to be as impactful and successful as possible in our future careers we must accept our differences and work together, remembering that people do what they can with what they have. When we have done this, our country will be a better place where people from all social classes can work together for the better.

Unequal Distribution of Income

The distribution of family income is the proportion of the total income of all families in the nation that each family receives (Cherlin 114). The United States' distribution of income is extremely unequal. The rich people in our country keep getting richer and the poor people keep getting poorer. People in the workforce without college degrees rarely get raises and continue to make barely over minimum wage, and people with college degrees make the big bucks and receive raises more often. The reasons why families' distribution of income has become more and more unequal are the growing inequality in men's earnings, increase in the amount of single-parent families, the movement of middle-class wives to the workforce (Cherlin 115).

We should all admire all the hard-working people and not just those who make the most money. When working with families, it is important to help children and spouses learn to appreciate the person(s) providing for them. Also, husbands and wives need to make sure not to put any pressure on or discriminate one another. For instance, if the husband is working and the wife isn't, he shouldn't make her feel guilty about it. Also, the wife shouldn't complain to her husband about not making enough money. Many people all over the world have financial difficulties. Families often split up because of money issues, so we need to help out more struggling families to increase their chances of happily staying together.  Cherlin, Andrew. (2008). //Public and Private Families: An Introduction. // New York, NY: McGraw-Hill