We have two questions in our discussion this week.

1- How does socioeconomic status determine family functioning?

2- What is the role and effect of cultural values and public policies on the overall well-being of children and the

family?

300 Words minimum answer

Classmate #1:

Hello Class,

I hope everyone had a great long weekend and Happy Veterans Day 🙂

1. Socioeconomic status (SES) determines family functioning by physical, psychological, social and intellectual development. SES isn’t just income, but it is a combination of income, occupation, and education (CHFD 308, 2019). Families will stick within their SES, if you’re at a higher socioeconomic status then you have a higher education levels which would then results in higher paying jobs. If you’re from a lower SES then more than likely you will have lower education and lower paying jobs. Just because you come a low income family does not necessarily mean you are of low socioeconomic status. You can come from a low income family but you would not be consider SES because of your high education and occupation. These families that come from lower incomes and have limited financial resources the children from these home have the same resources as those who have more resources (CHFD 308, 2019). Also there maybe families that come from the same income family but one family may believe in stronger work ethics whereas the other family only cares for appearances this is also two different socioeconomic statuses.
2. Children who grow up with good childcare and schooling can help improve a child’s SES background because they will have access to more resources. Children are also impacted by family values, culture, and public policy (CHFD 308, 2019). These are all the things that can and will affect a child’s development and how the see the world view the world. When families talk to their children they are helping them more than just their development they are passing down their knowledge of culture, family beliefs and values. Culture also has an impact on a child’s development. Culture has an impact by helping an individual create a script to pass down to help the child to understand their environment and how they will view others around them.

CHFD 308. (2019). Nature and Nurture: Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Child Development. Retrieved from: https://apus.realizeithome.com/RealizeitApp/Conten…

Classmate #2:

Hello class!

1. Socioecomonic status of a family impacts children on many different levels such as physically, psychologically, socially and intellectually. When you hear someone refer to a “social class” of an individual they often are referring to socioeconmonic. A “class” is determined usually by education, income and occupation. Those who are of higher socioeconomic status typically have less negative impacts than those within a low economic status. They are more commonly associated with higher levels of education and higher income. A great example our lesson presents regarding mixed influences of these 3 determinants of socioeconomic status was young parents in college who have low income but would not be considered low status. Simply because they are getting education and have a job. The opposite of this would be young parents who drop out of high school and work average jobs. Both examples perhaps make the same income but lives and status change drastically. Of course, these differences can impact children because depending on the parent’s jobs and education, they may have extremely different mentalities and thought processes of what are priorities when it comes to their children. Example being one couple might focus of work ethic, values, morals, characteristics and another might focus on appearances, being the best athlete or being popular.

1. Children are impacted by many more ways than just socioeconomic status such as family values, culture and policies. The interactions between culture and child development mold how a child views the world. Different cultures focus on different approaches and believe different ways of upbringing. For example; in an individualistic culture children are guided and parented to be more independent. This is essential to child development in in these cultures. “Culture values of the dominant culture impact the development and priorities of public policy.” (Maschinot, 2008) This includes government funding for things like access to early childhood education and health care policies, which of course, impacts children, their education, language, development and access to early education. The majority of voters are older, white and higher class individuals which put the children within the low classes at a disadvantage to gain what it needed to assist them in their development.

Maschinot, Beth. (January 2008) The Changing Face of the United States: The Influence of Culture on Early Child Development. Retrieved from http://www.buildinitiative.org/TheIssues/DiversityEquity/Toolkit/ToolkitResourceList/ViewToolkit/tabid/224/ArticleId/93/The-Changing-Face-of-the-United-States-The-Influence-of-Culture-on-Early-Child-Development.aspx

150 Words minimum answer