Heidbrink brings up a lot of important issues about children who give up their kinship ties in order to gain legal status in the States, thus legally severing kinship ties. However, it would be interesting to see if these kinship ties are sometimes “unofficially” reconnected. How do the kin who are severed see the family member who chose to cut the ties? Is all communication actually cut off, or do these lines stay open despite legal titles?
Another point I found interesting was that the role of children – traditionally a very dependent group on their parent and confined to a household, Heidbrink depicts how children’s roles are becoming very dynamic and more involved in the social sphere that was once reserved for adults. “[T]hese historical reforms marked a shift in allegiance that remains with us today – a child’s ‘highest duty was no longer obedience to parents, but preparation for citizenship’” (p2). How does this affect the household structure? Does it strain kinship ties in some cases? We saw that Mario did not believe in testifying against his family, despite negligent history. In the States, however, it seems like a very different perspective is taken, advocated through the media and social institutions put in place.
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