Analyzing Marquita's 'Neglectful Parenting'

Through reading this book I have learning many things. To begin with, I have learned that patterns exist in neglectful parenting styles. For instance, in the book the author talks about Marquita, who was given adult like responsibilities as a young girl, such as caring for her older and young siblings and finding her drunk mother at night in order to bring her home. Because of her mother’s lack of care, Marquita started to run away from home, where she became pregnant, dropped out of school, and mothered four children from three different fathers. Soon enough, she became a drug addict and her children were taken from her until she cleaned up. The damage was done, as her daughter, Kiyonna, followed the same path. She too got pregnant and …show more content…
Soon her parenting got better, and caused her son, Garry to follow a different path than her and Kiyonna. I found this story to be interesting, because it gave a first hand example of how different forms of parenting can affect a child. With neglectful parenting, a child may learn to act and treat their future children in the same manner. I also found it interesting that a privileged child may have neglectful parents, but may still beat the system because of the opportunity for a good education, special service, therapy, and other opportunities. This doesn’t mean that poor people are automatically neglectful parents than their rich counterparts. It means that neglectful parenting can have more damaging results in poverty. I also learned that depression is a frequent companion of poverty. Looking back now, I can see how someone who is always living from paycheck to paycheck and still often doesn’t have enough could affect them psychologically. I believe this is in part, due to stress. The book provides a very good example of someone suffering from depression. Caroline, started to suffer from depression after her mother died. I found it interesting that she was surprised when she …show more content…
This was evident in Marquita’s story. She was left with a ton of responsibility, and soon followed her mother’s ways into neglectful parenting. At the age of fifty-nine, Marquita’s mother died. After this moment in her life, Marquita turned to God. She found that when a family commits a sin, it often times continues for generations unless fixed. This made her turn her life around in order to better her children. Marquita’s story shows the power of God to help someone in need. Even though you are not able to see or touch God, he can provide in other ways such as wisdom, comfort, and knowledge. Throughout my life, God has pointed me in the right direction and has always provided, not always directly, but also indirectly. I feel Marquita experienced this, and many other people in need could do so also. Coming from a small town, I know of some people trapped in low wage work, but do not know them personally. One particular woman, the janitor at our high school, seems to be trapped in her job. To begin with, she was a teacher aid for the special needs children in my elementary school. She worked this job for about six years before she was fired. In her life, she had