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Chapter 5 71 This article is concerned with the question what the notion of flourishing as an aim of education might imply for parents. 21 Philosophers of education do not tend to write for parents, so the claim that parents ought to aim for the flourishing life of their children is not likely to be intended or read as direct advice to them. Nevertheless, the idea that flourishing is the (ideal) aim of education does suggest that parents should pursue the ideal of a flourishing life for their children, which leads to the question in which way they should do that. The purpose of this article is to explore what would be a good attitude for parents to take with regard to (aiming for) the (future) flourishing of their children. We will do this by answering three questions: 1) What does ‘aiming for flourishing’ mean?; 2) In what sense should parents have expectations with regard to the flourishing of their children?; and 3) Is hope a more appropriate attitude for parents to have with regard to the flourishing of their children? What parents should do, and the attitude they should have, refers to normative claims about what is good of and for parents to do in their child-rearing in relation to the ideal aim of flourishing. This is closely bound up with what is good for children in view of their chances of a flourishing life. 5.2.1 W HAT DOES ‘ AIMING FOR FLOURISHING ’ MEAN ? Emily was collecting a ‘first edition of Lewis Carroll’, and looking forward to immersing her child in ‘sophisticated and terrific’ stuff. This is not a desire that every parent sees vanishing into thin air when their child is diagnosed with Down syndrome, but it is rather a desire that is typical for a certain social class position, argues Annette Lareau on the basis of her sociological research. 22 Lareau observed a difference among families in the USA in what she calls ‘a dominant set of cultural repertoires about how children should be raised’, and she connects these repertoires to the families’ social class positions. 23 Upper- and middle-class parents, like Charles and Emily, tend to see themselves as ‘developing’ [their children] to cultivate [their] talents in a concerted fashion. Organized activities, established and controlled by mothers and fathers, dominate the lives of middle-class children. By making certain their children have these and other experiences, middle-class parents engage in a process of concerted cultivation . 24 21 ‘Parents’ should be read throughout this paper as parents or other main caretakers in the role of parents. 22 Lareau 2011. 23 Ibid., p. 4. 24 Ibid., pp. 1-2.