The first of the two approaches to child rearing identified by her is concerted cultivation. This approach is predominant in middle-class families. Children coming from middle-class families tend to acquire skills that are valuable in the future when they enter the ‘world of work’. Furthermore, middle-class parents tend to put more stress upon talking and reasoning through interactions with their kids. In fact, they play a pivotal role in their kids’ schooling as opposed to their counterparts in working class or poor families. Children in these families wind up having more verbal agility, and broaden vocabularies. Thus, they become less dependent on authority professionals in institutional settings.
The second approach that is prevalent in working class and poor families, Lareau calls it natural growth. In this approach children have less structured leisure time and activities, more interaction with siblings and extended family members. Also, there is a clear boundary between children and adult. Adults in these families focus more on providing their children’s basic needs. Parents of these children do not interfere with their children’s