Socioeconomic status (SES) and development are intertwined. Children in poor families have a greater chance of growing up experiencing neighborhood violence, environmental toxins, and family stress. These experiences can hinder development. Parents in poverty are often under stress and lack the time and resources to encourage early childhood learning and social development (Nampijja et al., 2018).  Long-term poverty has been linked to insecure attachments, little parental engagement, and harsh discipline. These negatively affect how children think of themselves and engage with others (Chaudry & Wimer 2016).

 

Intersections of race and SES in early childhood can have a lasting impact on a child’s social development. Family markers of race, class, and home language influence childcare selection which affects childhood experiences. The children in Head Start programs have different patterns of interactive social styles than children in preschool programs available in more affluent suburbs (Howes & James, 2002). Cultural socialization, the transmittal of information, values, and racial/ethnic perspectives from parent to child depend on SES and education. For example, higher-income Blacks are more likely to provide an Afrocentric home environment than their lower-income counterparts. This leads to higher self-esteem, and healthy socialization of children (Hughes et al., 2006)

As children of color disproportionately grow up in poverty, racial bias in early childhood drew interest. Research challenges the assumption that very young children are “color blind” and lack racial awareness. Rather, children become racially aware in infancy (Farago et al., 2015). However, rigidity in early childhood categorizing can contribute to prejudice. Indirect messaging about ethnicity and race in preschool classrooms can reinforce stereotypical beliefs (Setoh, et al., 2019).  Children of color are negatively impacted by the discrimination they face, making an anti-bias curriculum in preschool critical.

Long-term poverty can result in epigenetic changes or the way the body reads DNA sequences. These changes occur in unsafe, impoverished environments without access to clean water, sanitation, and stable housing (Robertson et al.,2019). Studies indicate there is a relationship between a child’s biological embodiment and the social-economic adversity they experience. The epigenetics of a low-income child can result in a higher lifetime burden of diseases and morbidity (Schmidt et al.,2021). 

Family dynamics intersect with race and class and influence early socialization. Children in structured households spend more time in daycare with enriched experiences. Low SES households may be chaotic (Berry 2016, 115). Preschool minimizes the adverse effects of household disorganization. This supports executive functioning, an important mechanism underlying cognition and social adjustment. Additionally, caregivers are responsible for teaching diversity and disrupting prejudicial attitudes. Early childhood socialization and cognition benefit from a stable home with all adults contributing to the child’s upbringing (Kochanska, 2001, p.482). 

This group project concludes with a clear understanding that early childhood socialization is like a mathematical Venn diagram. Socioeconomic status, race, family dynamics, and epigenetics intersect and influence positive or negative early socialization outcomes.

The discussion on developing a curriculum that can engage and encourage conversations about race and culture is critical since children spend considerable time at school. The time at school affords opportunities to begin formulating and questioning their initial understandings of race. Otherwise, it is likely that they will develop the rudiments of racism (Boutte et al.,2011). There is considerable research that shows children from lower SES households with challenging family dynamics or those who enter school programs speaking little or no English are highly vulnerable to chronic academic underachievement and lack of social development (Lugo-Gil & Tamis-LeMonda, 2008). The findings from our study will help teachers and caregivers who work with such a population of students. We also find that social support can be an important factor in mitigating children’s externalizing problem behaviors for children from low-SES families where the caregivers (particularly mothers) have high stress (Petterson & Albers, 2015).  Hence, providing adequate social support would help address the long-term repercussions of a child’s problem behaviors (Arikan et al., 2019).

 

Langs offers ways communities can help narrow the educational gap for low-income children. The priority is to supply books and educational materials to impoverished parents of young children. New or used books or literacy kits of educational materials can be donated to organizations that support low-income families. Individuals, schools, organizations, and businesses can organize book drives. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that supports the creation of free libraries in all communities. Finally, Langs encourages her readers to speak out against the educational gap faced by low-income children by contacting their government officials. (Langs, 2022, n.p.). Jordan Langs is a contributing writer for Forbes magazine.

 

Berry, D., Blair, C., Willoughby, M., Garrett-Peters, P., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Mills-Koonce, W.R. (2016). Household chaos and children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development in early childhood: Does childcare play a buffering role? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 34, 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.09.003

 

Boutte, G., Lopez-Robertson, J., & Powers-Costello, E. (2011). Moving beyond colorblindness in early childhood classrooms. Early Childhood Development 39, 335-342.  http://doi-org.proxlib.csueastbay.edu/10.1007/s10643-011-0457-x 

 

Chaudry, & Wimer, C. (2016). Poverty is not just an indicator: The relationship between income, Poverty, and child well-being. Academic Pediatrics, 16(3), S23–S29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.12.010

 

Evans, Gary, W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. The American Psychologist, 59(2), 77–92. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.2.77

 

Farago, F., Sanders, K., & Gaias, L. (2015). Addressing race and racism in early childhood: Challenges and opportunities. Advances in Early Education and Day Care, 19, 29-66. http://doi:10.1108/S0270-402120150000019004

 

Howes, C., & James, J. (2002). Children’s social development within the socialization context of childcare and early childhood education. In P. Smith & C. Hart (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of childhood social development (pp. 137–155). Blackwell Publishers.

Hughes, D., Rodriguez, J., Smith, E. P., Johnson, D. J., Stevenson, H. C., & Spicer, P. (2006). Parents’ ethnic-racial socialization practices: a review of research and directions for future study. Developmental psychology, 42(5), 747

Kochanska. (2001). Emotional Development in Children with Different Attachment Histories: The First Three Years. Child Development, 72(2), 474–490. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00291

 

Lee, K., Quinn, P.C., and Pascalis, O. (2017). Face race processing and racial bias in early development: A perceptual-social linkage. Current Directions in Psychological Science,   26(3), 256-262.  https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417690276

Lindblom, J., Punamaki, R.L.,  Flykt, M., Vanska, M., Nummi, T., Sinkkonen, J. & Titinen, A.M. (2016). Early family relationships predict children’s emotional regulation and defense mechanisms. SAGE Open,6(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016681393 

Lugo-Gil, J. & Tamis-LeMonda, C.S. (2008). Family resources and parenting quality: Links to children’s cognitive development across the first 3 years. Child Development 79(4), 1065-1085. 

 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18717907/#:~:text=doi%3A%2010.1111/j.1467%2D86 24.2008.01176.x.

 

Nampijja, Kizindo, R., Apule, B., Lule, S., Muhangi, L., Titman, A., Elliott, A., Alcock, K., & Lewis, C. (2018). The role of the home environment in neurocognitive development of children living in extreme poverty and with frequent illnesses: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues  (40) 1-7

 

McCrory, C., Fiorito, G., Ni Cheallaigh, C., Polidoro, S., Karisola, P., Alenius, H., Layte, R., Seeman, T., Vineis, P., & Kenny, R. A. (2019). How does socio-economic position (SEP) get biologically embedded? A comparison of allostatic load and the epigenetic clock(s). Psychoneuroendocrinology, 104, 64–73 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.02.018

 

Pasian, Benitez, P., & Lacharité, C. (2020). Child neglect and poverty: A Brazilian study. Children and Youth Services Review, 108, 104655–. 1-7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104655

 

Petterson, & Albers, A. B. (2001). Effects of poverty and maternal depression on early child development. Child Development, 72(6), 1794–1813.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00379

Prickett, K. C. (2018). Nonstandard Work Schedules, Family Dynamics, and Mother–Child Interactions During Early Childhood. Journal of Family Issues, 39(4), 985–1007. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X16684893

Robertson, N. M., Kayongo, A., Siddharthan, T., Pollard, S. L., Villalobos, J. G., Ladd-Acosta, C., Kirenga, B., & Checkley, W. (2019). The role of epigenetics in respiratory health in urban populations in low and middle-income countries. Global Health, Epidemiology and Genomics, 4. https://doi.org/10.1017/gheg.2019.7

Schmidt, K. L., Merrill, S. M., Gill, R., Miller, G. E., Gadermann, A. M., & Kobor, M. S. (2021). Society to cell: How child poverty gets “Under the Skin” to influence child development and lifelong health. Developmental Review, 61, 100983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2021.100983

 

Setoh, P., Lee, K.J.J., Zhang, L., Quian, M.K., Heyman, G.D., & Lee, K. (2019). Racial    categorization predicts implicit racial bias in preschool children. Child Development,   90(1), 162-179.  https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12851

This shows the complexity of how different factors can come together and create a bigger influence. With the help of daycares and developmental programs, the effects of socioeconomic status can be minimized within minority groups. Getting children out of these environments can bring them more positive influences. “Only by addressing the historical exploitation and exclusion of marginalized communities can we begin to repair the pains and exploitative practices of the past and redesign our community systems so that all children thrive,” says Efren Aguilar, head of geographic information systems at the center. The study brings encouragement of the future and new possibilities. Having more emphasis on creating a stronger foundation at the beginning of childhood. These influences mentioned above have an impact before children even start school. So the hope is to bring help to these cities that have fewer resources and develop targeted supports and services.