Deck 31: Consumption As Care and Belonging: Economies of Dignity in Childrens Daily Lives

Question 1

As part of the economy of dignity, low-income parents ______.

A) often worked extra hours or sacrificed basic needs like clothes, food, or rent, in order to purchase commercial items for their children so that they wouldn't feel left out or neglected
B) were not able to buy their children extra commodities because of the importance of food, clothes, and rent
C) did not place importance on "Frivolous" items like name-brand clothes or Halloween costumes
D) managed their children's expectations of care by spending more time with them

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Pugh concluded that the commodification of childhood ______.

A) impacts mostly low-income children and families because they are less able to distract their children with other activities
B) impacts mostly middle- and upper-income children and families because they have the money to spend on gifts, birthday parties, and momentary trends
C) changes the environment for all children, even those whose parents have attempted to curtail their children's exposure to marketing
D) changes the environment for all children, except for those whose parents have attempted to curtail their children's exposure to marketing

Answer 2

C

Question 3

According to Pugh, how is consumption linked to belonging and care? What does this imply for future relationships-not just the relationship between parents and their children?

Answer 3

Varies. May include the following:
-Children show that they are cared for by telling other students how many things were purchase for them. Care and consumption are closely intertwined, such that kids who do not have name-brand items, Halloween costumes, or big parties feel excluded and socially isolated.

Question 4

What is the "economy of dignity?"

A) the system by which parents exchange recognition of gifts of time, work, or feeling
B) the process in which children develop dignity and maturity through childhood
C) the system by which children make themselves audible and relevant to their peers
D) the commercialization of self-respect and dignity through marketing techniques

Question 5

According to Pugh, what has the increasing commodification of childhood led to?

A) advertisements targeted specifically at children with sexual, violent, and inappropriate content
B) a redefinition of parenthood, demanding longer working hours and higher salaries to be a "good parent"
C) an overstimulated generation of children who are unable to entertain themselves
D) changed expectations about what parents should provide, what children should have, and what having and not having signifies

Question 6

What symbolic meanings of consumption are evident in your childhood? In your parents' childhoods? Is this consumption-as-care phenomenon recent?

Question 7

In the reading by Pugh, the anecdote about the girls explaining their birthday parties is used to exemplify how ______.

A) social class disparities in children that attend inner city schools are evident in every day interactions
B) market culture is an arbiter of who is silenced; thereby marking boundaries of inclusion and exclusion
C) possessions instill a sense of entitlement in children
D) buying items and giving them as a gift is a valid mechanism for showing parental care

Question 8

What did Pugh find about care-displaying?

A) Children put concerted effort into making and buying things for their parents in order to show love.
B) Children worked hard to convey that they were cared for, often by talking about things parents buy or do for them.
C) Parents often talk about how much money they are spending so that children will know how much they love them.
D) Children did not think or notice that commodities might be a form of care.

Question 9

In Pugh's study, parents ______.

A) from the lower class understood children's desire to belong through the consumption of goods; but parents from the upper class did not equate consumption with belonging
B) in the upper class sought to provide their children with goods in order to establish the divide between their children and children from lower classes
C) sought to limit their children's consumption to prevent their children from becoming "spoiled"
D) from both classes understood the consumptive desires of their children as representative of belonging

Question 10

Pugh seeks to understand ______.

A) the impact of commercialization on the emotional experience and relationships of childhood
B) the ways parents deal with regret around buying children commodities
C) whether children are victims of an ever more sophisticated onslaught of corporate interest
D) the impact of commercialization on divorce trends