Why middle, upper middle, and upper class children will be more successful in li

1. 83

   gmwilliamsposted 11 years ago

   Why middle, upper middle, and upper class children will be more successful in life than children who
   
   come from lower middle to lower socioeconomic backgrounds?    It has been substantiated repeatedly that children from socioeconomic affluent backgrounds are the ONES who will be HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL in life while children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have a slim to no chance of any type of socioeconomic success.

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2. 68

   Mazzy Boleroposted 11 years ago

   Surely, that's obvious!
   
   1) They generally have parents who are educated, confident and in professional jobs. Those parents inculcate the values of education and ambition in their child. They can talk to the child and stimulate their thinking and help the development of their vocabulary and communication skills.
   
   2) The parents usually take an interest in the child's education and achievements and try to help them.
   
   3) They can afford the best education, music lessons, travel, etc. There are usually lots of books in the home and quality newspapers and magazines. They sometimes take the kid to the theater, to classical music concerts, etc.
   
   4) The parents can afford to pay college fees.
   
   5) The parents often have connections and can help them get a job after they graduate.
   
   6) They grow up being treated with respect rather than being looked down on and treated as an inferior by the wider world. This means they have confidence in themselves. When young, you learn to see yourself as others see you.
   
   7) The kids have money at college and can not only go to a college which has high standing but can mix with kids from wealthy backgrounds and make social alliances which can be helpful in later life.
   
   This is a generalization and I know kids from wealthier families can also have horrendous childhoods and kids from poor homes can have wonderful parents who do everything to help them fulfil their potential. On the whole, however, you will have a better chance of achieving your potential career-wise if your parents are not impoverished workers with little education.
   
   I myself came from a blue-collar background. That made things harder, not easier. However, it does give you a different perspective on some things. I would have achieved more if I had been born to wealthy parents, but possibly understood less.

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      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Succinctly stated.   Children from lower middle to lower classes have a chance in hell regarding achieving any type of socioeconomic success.  They are undoubtedly doomed from birth!    It is a near impossibility for poorer children to achieve!

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   2. 68

      Mazzy Boleroposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I wouldn't go that far.  It's not impossible, but it's a lot harder and is the exception rather than the norm.

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         gmwilliamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Poor children i.e. lower, working, & lower middle class children have a hell's chance to achieve educational & socioeconomic success.  They are doomed, even damned to remain in generational poverty/want like their parents & grandparents.    Poor children will be as their parents were.  Poor parents simply don't care if their children achieve educationally nor socioeconomically.  They are concerned about existing no more no less.... It is IMPOSSIBLE for poor children to achieve educational & socioeconomic success since the 1970s.  Poor children in the latter 20th & early 21st century have a VERY SLIM or NO chance of achieving any type of success.  Poor children will be consigned to be cannon fodder for war, incarcerated prisoners, or be in dead end slave jobs which will be phased out.  Poor children will become THE SLAVE CLASS of the 21st century.....well, such is life!

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3. 83

   belleartposted 11 years ago

   A lot of reasons!
   
   Children born in upper class families get better education, they probably have some  hobbies like horse riding or playing instruments...these things already make them stick out in society while the children in lower class families go to a public school with no extra curricular activities don't have the same boost so early on. 
   
   Upper class children are treated with respect (either publicly, in school..etc), I cant say the same for lower class unfortunately treated as inferior and like herds of cattle in schools. 
   
   Upper class families can afford health insurance, middle class have the medical card.  The difference here is Private hospitals and doctors are available to the upper class, while the lower class are treated like crap waiting for hours on end just to be seen, weighing whether your really sick enough to go get checked out because of the wait.  With the dentist it's worse-you have to wait two years to get only two fillings, one cap is allowed per two years...etc.
   
   I grew up in foster care with a middle class family but left the minute I turned 18 only to find out how difficult it actually is to survive without money.  My sister never got to finish her leaving cert, after getting kicked out soon after me, and has felt the effects for the past three years.
   When I was looking for funding to go to college, it took me three years to get it because they wanted to make sure I was worth sending to college, and not just another foster child looking for money..
   I had to fight to get into college, even after getting the necessary points through the CAO
   These may be little things but add them together and you've got the privileged who just hand over the money and their in and the people who have to fight to get anywhere in life.

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   1. 83

      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your answer.   Of course, more affluent children are more successful in life, they have the tools to succeed.   Poor children do not have such tools, their parents often do not care-poor children are just fodder so to speak!

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4. 74

   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   One factor might be they are used to having money and will do anything to keep that money. However, I believe it has more to do with the chance of opportunity. Those of middle, upper middle, and upper class children have parents who will pay for their degree. I remember growing up in the middle class it was not a choice to go to college, it was expected. Lower socioeconomic children don't usually have that option.

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      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What you have said is so true.  I , too, grew up in a middle class environment, college was expected of me.   My parents even expected me to attend graduate school but I elected not to much to their utter chagrin and horror!

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      lburmasterposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'm trying not to go into graduate school. However, it is still an option. I'm glad you chose your own path

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5. 82

   pstraubie48posted 11 years ago

   There are many exceptions to this 'rule'. Many have come from humble beginnings to go on to achieve greatness. If everyone who was socioeconomically challenged threw up their hands, and, said, "I will never have a successful life' then that would be a reason to give up There would be no point to make any effort.
   Thankfully many who do not come from 'money' do not give up...I actually came from humble beginnings and my life has not turned out to shabbily.
   To each of you who read this: do not let any obstacle lack like of money stand in your way. There are many opportunities for those without money to go to trade schools and college. I am in your corner!!

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      Express10posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      While I agree with your answer I also have to be sarcastic and ask, if you are in their corner, would you be footing their bills?

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         gmwilliamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         People who are successful for the most part come from at the minimum solidly middle class backgrounds.  Poor children don't achieve high educational nor socioeconomic success.  They just get low end jobs & continue the generational poverty of their parents & grandparents.  Rags to riches seldom, if ever, existed...….

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      Mazzy Boleroposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Don't know about Express10, but I would personally rather be paying taxes for college bills than for welfare bills, prison bills, crime control bills, and all the other costs which ensue from a situation of dead-end poverty.

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6. 0

   WhydThatHappenposted 11 years ago

   The weight of responsibility just to survive is more than just an inconvenient roadblock on the road to success. When you are down on your luck, the slightest of issues ruins your week because there is no support system to back you up.
   
   Do you spend the last of your money on food or gas? Which one can you go without?
   
   Missed a day of work? Eat rice and potatoes for a week.
   
   Your friends at school say theyre starving before lunch? You haven't eaten breakfast in a month. Enjoy the comradery that affords you.
   
   You are not like the others when the others have money and you don't, plain and simple. And that makes you believe that you are limited from achieving what they can achieve- the frustration of trying to rise above your circumstances alone is crushing- let alone achieving success.

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   Old Empresarioposted 11 years ago

   Rich kids don't have to get a job and work their way through high school or college. They can spend more time on studies and being out and about with people. They can afford to go to private college-preperatory high schools. In college, they can pay others to do their work for them. Their parents are well-connected to people who can get them good jobs after college. Their parents can pay for their college and set them up with a trust fund so that they never have to experience debt--not even a mortgage.
   
   Poor parents obviously have no idea how to succeed financially and so have nothing to teach their children other than "work hard and maybe you'll make more money". They teach their kids how to be on the receiving end of the system without realizing it. They think success is measured by expensive possessions, so they piss their money away on the latest and greatest gadgets, instead of saving or investing. They might encourage the child to go to college, but they think of college as a trade school that prepares you for a good job--it is nothing of the sort. Plus the kid has to pay for it by going into debt.
   
   Middle class kids fall in between these two extremes.

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      Express10posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You nailed it right on the spot with this answer!

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      Mazzy Boleroposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You're right - you see people nowadays in debt for a huge 3-D TV, but no college fund, no building a future.  Parents can be hard workers but never have much money. You can't teach your kids what you don't know yourself.

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      gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      You are exactly RIGHT as usual!  Solidly middle, upper middle & upper class children have ADVANTAGES that their poorer counterparts NEVER WILL HAVE in a LIFETIME in terms of opportunities.  Poor children will become.....POOR, even POORER adults.

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8. 85

   Express10posted 11 years ago

   For the majority of them, doors will be opened for them and other opportunities are abundant because of people they or their families and friends know. Those with fewer connections whether they be social, business, financial, and educational related will have fewer opportunities.
   
   While some of these children will inherit businesses or money, many will simply have opportunities available to them that those from less abundant financial means do. Also, these children tend to get tutoring, advanced placement courses, extra-curricular activities, and other things that would make them more appealing to top schools.
   
   With these attributes they are more likely to get into top colleges with scholarships, financial aid, or financial aid from their family and are more likely to land high paying jobs. Their opportunities are simply more abundant than those seen by children of lesser means.

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   1. 83

      gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, many lower middle to lower class people have a culture of  poverty mentality.   They are also passive and have quite a fatalistic approach to life.   They have a victimology consciousness i.e. everything bad in their lives are other's fault!

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      Mazzy Boleroposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Some do blame the world, gmwilliams, but others have a sense of inferiority. I was always told only extremely clever people went to college, and I might not be good enough! I went to college expecting to meet swarms of geniuses

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      WhydThatHappenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Mazzy- how many did you meet? Lol

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   4. 68

      Mazzy Boleroposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not many! I was expecting Socratic discussions about art and life, but on my first day the girls in my class were in deep discussion comparing the legs of the young male lecturers.  I realized then I'd been conned

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   SpanStarposted 11 years ago

   Consider this if one is residing in a neighborhood that is rundown, infested with violence, family members are struggling to keep food on the table it's a little bit hard to concentrate on that math assignment if your thoughts are on whether or not a stray bullet is going to end your life tomorrow.

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      Efficient Adminposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow. Yes I believe these children would absolutely need a lot more encouraging adults in their life than other kids.

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10. 69

    ienjoythisposted 11 years ago

    Without going to deep, I will tell you that I came from a very humble upbringing.  When I was 8 years old, I remember asking my grandmother if I would have a better life someday. She stopped what she was doing, grabbed my hand and we went outside and sat on her porch swing. She said something that became so ingrained in my memory that I can still remember it word for word, "Your past, the decisions of your parents, the trouble you see, does not determine your future. You choose what you get out of life. No one else."  Fast-forward to today. I am 22 years old and I am the youngest salary employee in the company I work for. I get benefits, 401k, health insurance. And I also go to school full-time so I can finish my Engineering degree. When I was younger, I admired people with good jobs and pretty cars. However, I still live modestly. Afraid to be broke again, I save most of my money. But my point is this, it is all about whether a child in given the chance to look outside of their situation and see something better - more desirable. Then, if they have motivation and hope, they will succeed. That is why it is important to reach out to children who come from so little, to show them that there are amazing opportunities for them if they try.

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    1. 83

       gmwilliamsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       LOVE YOUR GRANDMOTHER, SHE IS INDEED A BRIGHT AND INSIGHTFUL WOMAN!  GOD BLESS HER ALWAYS!

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       ienjoythisposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you. She is definitely loved and appreciated.

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       Efficient Adminposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It was a real blessing that your grandmother told you this. You are doing really well for yourself.

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11. 85

    Efficient Adminposted 11 years ago

    Children who are from the affluent backgrounds have parents who have the money and resources to get them into college and also motivate them to do well. Children whose parents don't have anything have to work harder to get the resources to go to college.
    
    However, I have seen kids who did not come from affluence do well for themselves in life because they had goals and focus and worked hard.
    I'm sure their parents encouraged them and supported them any way they could.
    
    I think it's a combination of having really supportive parents who encourage their children, and if they happen to have more money and resources then that's even better for the children for their futures.
    
    I think it comes down to: you can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink.  There are stories of wealthy children who ended up as lazy moocher slackers with no ambition in life, and poor kids who grew up to do well for themselves i.e. had their own successful business which grew over the years because they put their mind to it and worked hard.
    
    I'm not saying anyone struggling right now to keep their head above water is not working hard enough or not focused enough. With the exception of the "well-off", these things happen to everyone at one time or another.

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    artsandlearningposted 10 years ago

    I believe success has very little to do with the social background one is born in. SO many of the successful men and women today come from humble backgrounds. Agreed children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do not have the facilities that the kids on the other side have, but determination, desire and passion have the power to open up opportunities that may seem like miracles.

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       gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

       Success HAS to do with one's socioeconomic background.  The richer/more affluent one is, THE MORE h/she will succeed.  Poorer children have a SCANT to NO chance of succeeding.  They are as likely to be as poor, if not poorer than their parents.

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       gmwilliamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       In the latter 20th & early 21st century, socioeconomic background is a predominant factor in a child's educational & socioeconomic attainment levels.  A poor child has no chance to become educated nor successful in the 21st century.   Poor children don't have the prerequisite tools to be successful nor educated.  They have no intellectual stimulation in the home.  Their parents are less educated, even uneducated & could care less about their children's education.   They even discourage their children from being successful, just telling them to settle for what life hands out to them as they did.   Poor parents tell their children to take any job for it is a job & that poverty is a normative lifestyle -just accept it.   Solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class parents stress education & success, telling their children to reach for the stars educationally & socioeconomically.

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13. 83

    gmwilliamsposted 8 years ago

    
    
    It's very simple, solidly middle, upper middle & upper class children have myriad educational & socioeconomic opportunities that their counterparts in the lower, working & lower middle socioeconomic classes WILL NEVER have.  Solidly middle, upper middle & upper class children have highly educated parents who know the importance of education in its relation to upward mobility & success.  Such parents also set identifiable & realistic examples as to the correlation between education & success.  They furthermore provide their children w/culture & intellectual paraphernalia in order for them to be academic ahead when they begin school.  Many of these parents are strong proponents of early childhood education.  They also have small, even very small families in order to afford their children opportunities & an affluent lifestyle. 
    
    Such parents implement the F.E.P. principle before they even conceive of having children.  They realize the importance of being financially, emotionally, & psychological prepared before they have children.  They know that in order for children to thrive, they must be born into the best possible of circumstances.  They realize that having the best possible of environments are highly conducive to children emotionally, mentally, intellectually, physically, & psychological.  Solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class parents are extremely thoughtful & intelligent parents regarding their children.  They are also unselfish parents, strongly believing in the future ramifications of their actions upon their children.  They also put the needs & welfare of their children before their own welfare.

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    gmwilliamsposted 4 years ago

    Also, it is the way solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class children are raised.  They are raised to question, be curious, & to think.   Solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class parents teach their children not to be blindly obedient but to think for themselves.   Family discussions are de rigueur in solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class homes.  Discussions are lifestyles in such homes.   However, in lower, working, & lower middle class environments, children are raised in concentration camp-like conditions where strict & unquestioning obedience is emphasized.  Parents in such homes bark out orders to their children.  They see their children not as individuals but mere cogs.   Children are considered more as obligations in lower, working, & lower middle class homes- they are just conveniences to be tolerated until they are 18 & out of the house for good.
    
    Lower, working, & lower class parents are the quintessential perfunctory parents.  There is no joy in their parenting.  They parent out of necessity.  They are also the quintessential authoritarian parent-DO AS I SAY.  They don't explain anything to nor indulge in discussion with their parents.   They create a concentration camp environment for their children as opposed to solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class parents who have a more democratic & humane environment for their children to thrive & flourish in.   
    
    Solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class parents raise their children to take over the world or make their mark in it while lower, working, & lower class parents raise their children to be working slaves.....

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       gmwilliamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       For example, as a solidly middle class child, I engaged in discussions with my parents.  They also negotiated with me.   I questioned things.    When I visited my lower class relatives in South Carolina, they believed in blind obedience.  They called me hard-headed because I questioned things.   However, the way I was raised resulted in me being an independent thinker which helped me educationally & socioeconomically.  My more blindly, unquestioning obedient relatives were relegated to low end jobs which don't require thinking. They also blindly accept things as they are.  They are mere followers in life.

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    gmwilliamsposted 4 years ago

    Solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class parents preach education & culture.  In solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class homes, there is educational & intellectual material.  Parents in such homes habitually engage in discussion & teaching.   In contrast, lower, working, & lower middle class parents could care less about their children beyond the basics.  These parents feel that just providing the rudiments is enough for their children.  Lower, working & lower middle class parents don't believe in stimulating their children intellectually & culturally- they feel that these things are totally superfluous.  They put their children in front of television or push them outside to play.  Lower, working, & lower middle class parents don't teach their children- they let their children raise themselves & each other.  These parents seldom, if ever, interact with their children.   These are the children who are behind academically because their parents don't teach them while children who are solidly middle, upper middle, & upper class soar academically because of parent-child interaction.

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