6. CHILDHOOD Flashcards
The dominant framework
.Sees children as incomplete human beings close to nature who lack rationality and the other capacities of adults
.Childhood and adulthood are seen as opposites
.Children are not seen as entities in their own right but are seen as incomplete
the dominant framework Evaluation
.Many sociologists argue that childhood does no follow a series of fixed, predictable stages in all places at all times
= therefore they argue that childhood is a social construction that varies from place to place and time to time
.CAGE = children’s experiences of childhood vary depending on class, gender, ethnicity
Pro western bias?
The modern western notion of childhood
Children are fundamentally different to adults
Because they are unable to look after themselves, they need to be protected during a period of nurturing and socialisation
Follows the dominant framework
Pilcher (1995) - The modern western notion of childhood
.Most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is ‘separateness’ – childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage (Children have different status from adults).
.Laws & policies show this separateness = laws stopping children from drinking, smoking – we see children with toys, shows they are different from adults.
.Childhood is seen as the ‘golden age’ of happiness and innocence - Adults job to protect children
Wagg (1992)
Childhood is socially constructed, in particular societies – there is no single, universal concept of childhood = childhood itself is not natural.
Benedict (1934) – Cross-cultural comparisons
children in simpler, non industrial societies are treated differently:
1) More responsibility at an earlier age.
2) Less value placed on obedience to adult authority.
3) Sexual Behaviour is Viewed differently
Punch (2001) - children in simpler, non industrial societies are treated differently
Points out that in rural Bolivia that 5 year-olds are expected to take work responsibilities in the home.
Firth (1970) - children in simpler, non industrial societies are treated differently
found that the Tikopia of the Western Pacific believe that children are well within their rights to dismiss orders from parents. Parents must earn the child’s respect.
Malinowski (1957) - children in simpler, non industrial societies are treated differently
found that the Trobriand Islanders (South West Pacific) were tolerant of children’s sexual explorations.
How much is a child worth by the age of 21
£250,000
Ariès – childhood is a social construction
how that ‘childhood did not exist’ in the Middle Ages: High infant mortality rates Low expectation of life Large families Children had little or no education
Shorter (1975) - Childhood in middle ages
.Children in the middle ages were often treated with indifference due to high deaths rates
→ It was not uncommon for parents to forget how children they had had
.Children were an ECONOMIC ASSET within the family…now they’re an ECONOMIC LIABILITY
Aries – The Development of Modern Childhood
.School – focusing on the education of the young
.17th Century – growing difference in children’s and adults clothing in the upper classes
Aries – The Development of Modern Childhood
.School – focusing on the education of the young
.17th Century – growing difference in children’s and adults clothing in the upper classes
Aries Evaluation
.His work has been seen as value-laden – distorted his work, leading him to be overcritical of medieval childrearing
.Linda Pollock (1983) argues against Aries, for saying ‘childhood did not exist in the past at all’ she says instead, we can say childhood, as a notion and stage has changed.
