Soc. 3251W Race, Class, and Gender

I stumbled upon this blog on the star tribune's website and it relates to some discussions we have had about families. The link is http://www.startribune.com/blogs/cribsheet/ and the article in discussion is called "Couch Potater Tots." The article is written by a woman who doesn't know if she should let her children watch much TV. They are under two but there is much pressure and advertising by television programs that they can make your kids smarter. Series' like Baby Einstein or Baby Mozart are out there and are telling her to have her kids watch them so they become smarter. She had watched Sesame Street as a kid and she implies but never expicitly says that that is proven as a benefit towards children's education.

This relates to the conversation we had in class about families and the parents changing the developments of their children. The mother here is struck with the decision of how can I make my kid as smart as the other kids out there and it is a tough spot. With parents having such an impact on the development of her child could be altered by whether she buys her kid fancy movies and what-not. Furthermore, this strikes a deeper chord in relation to whether or not people can afford these intellingence-advancing devices. Assuming that Baby Einstein does in fact make kids smarter, what about the parents without the money and time to make that happen. Is this yet another area where the poor will struggle more to educate their children at as sophisticated a level as the rich? If intelligence is purchased, is smart kids to some degree something you need money to have? If yes, the rich will keep getting richer and so on unless changes are made.