Families and ChildrenChapter 9

Social and Cultural Influences to Have Children• Pronatalism• Family• Friends• Religion• Government• Economy• Race• Gender

• Male provider vs involved father ideal• Intensive motherhood

• Social Class• Competitive birthing

Becoming a Parent-American Trends

• 72% of American adults have children

• Half of all U.S pregnancies are unintended• In a national study of first-year college students, 77% said that having children

is an “essential” or “very important” objective in their lives.• In a similar study: 91% agreed to “Someday I want to have children”

• More children are born to parents who are unmarried/cohabitating

• Many children have more than 2 parents

Fertility

• Fertility-The number of children born in a society or aong a particular group

• TFR-The number of children born to the average women in her lifetime

• What macro level factors affect fertility rates?

• The sociological imagination

Total Fertility Rate by Race/ethnicity, 2005

Differential birthrates reflect the fact that cultures have different beliefs and values about having children.

Fertility and Education Level

• Trend? Why? Opportunity Cost

Infertility and Technology-Social and Ethical Issues•Reasons for infertility

• Embryo Screening- A technology for examining fertilized eggs before implantation to choose or eliminate certain ones.• The potential to create a child with certain traits expands•What are the implications?• Sex selection• Trait selection

Adoption• 3 Categories

• Transracial Adoption• Adopting children of a race different from that of the parents.

• Why controversial? What dilemmas do parents experience?• Transracial Adoption: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_trans.cfm

• Open Adoptions• In an open adoption, the biological parent can stay involved in the child’s life.

Controversial?• Other issues:

• Should single people be able to adopt? People over 40? Gays and Lesbians?

Abortion

• 1. An induced abortion is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy through chemical or surgical means.

• 2. A spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) is the unintended termination of a pregnancy.

• What are the main arguments of the abortion debate?

Abortion Debate

Pro-Life Pro-Choice• The unborn fetus has a right to

live.• Abortion is an immoral solution to

unintended pregnancy.• The life of an unborn fetus is

sacred and should be protected, even at the cost of individual difficulties for the pregnant woman.

• Freedom of choice is a central value.• Those who must bear the burden

of their choices ought to have the right to make these choices.• Procreation choices must be free

of governmental control.• Gender and politics

Parenting: Spanking

Education and Parenting

• Spanking

• Childhood obesity

• SIDS

The Story behind the Numbers1. How much does it cost for a low-income family (<$57,000/yr.) and a high-income family (>$98,000/yr.) to raise a child through age 17?

a) $135,000; $295,000b) $160,000; $370,000 c) $210,000; $425,000d) $300,000; $560,000