privilege. Children of all classes are abused. We need studies that document the strategies individuals use in homes lacking in material privilege to create care and respect in the midst of adversity. All too often the assumption prevails that one cannot expect poor people to be caring. We hear again and again that these individuals are too preoccupied to deal with their emotional development. Such thinking, coming initially from the ruling classes, has provided a convenient excuse that individuals who lack privilege can evoke to justify cruelty.
