Band 8+: Children who are brought up in families that do not have large amounts of money are better prepared to deal with the problems of adult life than children brought up by wealthy parents. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

It is believed that individuals exposed to precarity from a young age have higher chances of becoming dependable adults than individuals coming from a wealthier background. I strongly contend that there is truth to this statement, notably due to the hardships and lack of resources they had growing up.

First and foremost, as proven by the sociologist Emile Durkheim, a large part of our way of understanding the world and interacting with it is shaped during childhood. This process is referred to as “primary socialisation”, which constitutes the phase during which young people internalize the norms and values necessary for their integration into society. Individuals raised in relatively poor households are more exposed to norms that value capability and hard work, as they may not have the resources to simply rely on their relatives for support. Consequently, they may become more resilient to difficulties than individuals who grew up rather sheltered.

Another point to consider is how their economic situation exposes them to hardships that individuals from richer households may not encounter. Indeed, due to the lack of funding necessary to support them through their childhood, it is not uncommon for teenagers to work in order to lessen the financial burden on their parents, especially in developing countries where child labor remains a source of income for many families. In this sense, they develop skills allowing them to be more dependable adults going forward, notably since many of them do not pursue higher education as they have to provide themselves with basic necessities, therefore learning from experience to deal with problematic situations.

Overall, I firmly believe that different backgrounds shape the way individuals react to adversity. As a result of their education, people from modest upbringings internalize a different set of norms and values, pushing them to develop their resilience in difficult situations. Alongside these values, those individuals are more likely to experience hardship early on due to their lack of financial resources, therefore shaping them into more dependable adults than individuals who grew up in a more prosperous environment and were therefore provided for.