ABSTRACT
Within the domain of research on families-particularly with regard to how parents transfer class advantages to their children-there is skepticism as to whether or not class can adequately account for distinctions found in the everyday actions and behaviors of parents and their children. As Kingston (2000) argues, “. . . class distinguishes neither distinctive parenting styles or [sic] distinctive involvement of kids” in specific behaviors (p. 134). On the other hand, there are family researchers who favor understandings of inequalities among families that are based on social class, and in some cases, these researchers have found sharp class distinctions in areas such as parenting style and practices (Lareau, 2002, 2003). Examining data from the 500 Family Study, an extensive study of middle-class dual-earner couples and their children, this chapter explores whether there are cultural lifestyle choices consistent with dominant middle-class parenting practices, or if the patterns of parenting are so diverse that the concept of a middle-class home advantage may be overstated.
