Caring for children in lower-SES contexts: Recognizing parents' agency, adaptivity, and resourcefulness

Daedalus

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From public policy to the social sciences, parenting in low-resource contexts is often viewed through a lens of deficit—there is a focus on what parents should be doing differently. We challenge this idea, highlighting the deliberate and rational choices parents with low socioeconomic status often make to navigate their circumstances and give their children the best lives possible under significant constraints. These parenting decisions may go beyond simply ensuring children’s survival in harsh contexts; in some cases, they might give children the best shot at upward mobility. This view broadens our scientific understanding of good care and implies that children may be best served when resources are spent on meeting families’ needs, rather than instructing parents on how to care.