This parenting style is commonly exhibited in middle-class and upper-class American families, and is also characterized by consciously developing language use and ability to interact with social institutions.
Many have attributed cultural benefits to this form of child-rearing due to the style's use in higher income families, conversely affecting the social habitus of children raised in such a manner.
A child that has been concertedly cultivated will often express greater social prowess in social situations involving formality or structure attributed to their increased experience and engagement in organized clubs, sports, musical groups as well as increased experience with adults and power structure.
Negative considerations have included higher levels of adolescent psychopathology,[1] an overburdened sense of entitlement, potentially disrespectful behavior toward authority figures, lack of creativity, and the psychosomatic inability to play or relax.
The difference between the two types presented by Annette Lareau is that concerted cultivation will in most cases provide a child with skills and advantages over natural growth children in the classroom and eventually in their careers.
Children of concerted cultivation, along with their upbringing, are typically provided with connections from their parents, friends, and activities that give them a step up in life.
[2] Parents in the working class (and typically with lower incomes) engage their children in the accomplishment of natural growth.
Consequently, parents may feel frustrated and powerless, and children do not receive the sense of entitlement and support that comes with concerted cultivation.
[5] Social class, wealth, and income have a much more of an effect on what child rearing practices will be used, rather than the ethnicity of the parents or children.
The correlation between ethnicity and social class comes from the perpetuated inequality in the distribution of wealth in the United States of America.
The lack of money is the defining factor in the style of child rearing that is chosen, and minorities are more likely to have less wealth or assets available for use in their children's upbringing.
Wealth and connections among middle-class parents also defines how these children enter the labor market, with or without help in finding jobs.
In addition to having better teaching and materials, the schools have more money to make renovations, have a better appearance, and the children develop a sense of confidence and entitlement because they feel that they are learning in an environment of excellence.