
The Socioeconomics of Parenting: Why Rich Parents Don't Matter - cwan
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576090020541379588.html
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danilocampos
I'm not qualified to comment on the fuzzier elements of psychology here, but
rich parents _do_ matter in some pretty practical ways.

Most dramatically:

Rich parents know interesting people. In many cases, wealth is a function of
trust combined with ability. You don't (usually) get wealthy by hiding in your
basement and never talking to anyone. So along the way, you meet good people
and build relationships.

Conversely, the less wealthy a parent is, the less likely they are to form
relationships with people who can benefit their children. At the extreme end:
if your mom is a fry cook at McDonald's, what benefits are her colleagues able
to offer you? How many of those connections can benefit your future?

On the other end, if your mom is Marissa Mayer, you're in much better shape.
14 and want a summer job? I bet she knows someone who could give you some
interesting, mind-expanding paid work. 19 and looking for a college gig that
can help you get a great job after your graduate? etc.

It's anecdotal, but growing up in a household that wasn't at all wealthy, I
can point to this as the greatest disadvantage I faced. I wanted to learn
programming, but we didn't know anyone who knew anything about that. I wanted
to know anything at all about computers, and I was on my own. Not an
insurmountable problem – I taught myself. But I know access to mentorship at
an early age could have made a huge impact.

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ebaysucks
Sure, but these rich kids also face pressure to do whatever the family
tradition is.

I know a girl who had big trouble with their family because she wanted to
study medicine and become a surgeon (!) instead of studying business and
managing the family investments.

Rich entrepreneurs are often not very intellectual, except for maybe tech and
financial entrepreneurs. The grass is always greener on the other side.

Edit: That girl did become a surgeon after all, though.

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shasta
"How much do the decisions of parents matter? [...] the home environment pales
in comparison to the power of genes and peer groups."

Parents often get to decide who's in the peer group, though. Especially in the
early years and especially for parents with money.

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Sniffnoy
This is a misleading headline, in that the obvious interpretation is not the
intended one. Something more like "Why variation among rich parents doesn't
matter" would be better.

~~~
redwood
More specifically "Why variation among rich parents' behavior doesn't
matter"... because rich parents' genetics are shown to be extremely important:
it's just that essentially all rich parents seem to do enough for their kids
to see diminishing returns on doing more/different things.

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jdp23
"These results capture the stunning developmental inequalities that set in
almost immediately, so that even the mental ability of 2-year-olds can be
profoundly affected by the socio-economic status of their parents. As a
result, their genetic potential is held back."

~~~
rick888
"By the age of 3, children from wealthier households hear, on average, about
500,000 encouragements and 80,000 discouragements. The ratio is reversed in
households on welfare."

I often wonder how much of it is environmental. Why are the parents poor in
the first place? Is this directly related to education? If so, it doesn't
surprise me that children of parents that aren't educated (and don't stress
education) are affected by this.

~~~
yummyfajitas
_Why are the parents poor in the first place?_

Because they prefer leisure to work, even if it means they have less money.
The poor have a labor force participation rate about 1/3 that of the non-poor
(20% vs 65%) and a full time labor force participation rate of about 1/5 that
of the non-poor (10% vs 55%).

<http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpswp2007.pdf>

A significant amount of the extra leisure time is spent watching TV.

<http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.nr0.htm>

[edit: Hi downmodders, sorry for providing inconvenient facts.]

~~~
wazoox
> _Because they prefer leisure to work, even if it means they have less
> money._

Who takes bus at 4 in the morning to clean the toilets at your office and
leave before you arrive at 8? The poor. Who does two different, hard and
unfulfilling jobs to make end meet? The poor. Who has to spend 12 hours far
from home but is paid only 3 hours? The poor. The poor have it much less easy
than you and I, and your self-satisfied condescending attitude is sickening.

~~~
cookiecaper
It really depends on what _easy_ means here. Poor people might have to work
more often and might have less physical comforts or conveniences available,
and those things can certainly ease a subset of life's problems, but I
wouldn't say that money automatically makes one's whole existence or life
_easier_. I've known several individuals more affluent than myself whose
lives, at least in my estimation, are much more difficult.

Money can take care of some things, and the things it helps are nice, but I
think it's important for us to have some perspective.

Wealth comes with its own worries and some of those that don't have these
worries ought to be grateful that they don't. Beneath its luster, wealth is
often regarded as a destroyer. Think about it: of the the few that are capable
of obtaining wealth, fewer still are able to bear it without destroying their
own life or the lives of many surrounding. Wealth comes with burdens. Can you
bear it?

~~~
yummyfajitas
Actually, in terms of physical comforts and conveniences, they don't lack that
much.

See this fantastically interesting document - if you want to know how many
poor households (or non-poor households) have (e.g.) a "Porch, Balcony or
Deck", exposed wiring or have AC, the answers are all here.

<http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/h150-07.pdf>

The poor have it a bit worse than everyone else, but it's not that dramatic.
Most of the poor have a house with plenty of space, a car, etc.

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bhoung
Hate it when they don't tell you who the authors are or the title of the
paper. <http://www.psy.utexas.edu/>

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rjrodger
The thinking in this article is entirely wrong headed. All that is being
observed is a hygiene factor. As soon as home life reaches a good enough
childcare baseline, other factors such as genetics predominate.

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gersh
How much does diet matter?

