childhood

Question 1

Jane Pilcher modern western notion of childhood

Answer 1

The most important feature of childhood is ‘separateness adults and children’s lives are completely different

‘golden age of innocence’

Question 2

historical reasons that childhood is a social construct

Answer 2

• Aries: (10th-13th)
  ‘the idea of childhood didn’t exist’
  children were ‘mini adults’ as they played the same games and looked like adults
  infant mortality so high. parents child relationship more distant

shorter: if a child died parents weren’t too upset and would have named new babies after dead babies names

Question 3

Aries evaluation

Answer 3

• paintings are. unreliable don’t show full picture only shows the view of childhood from a rich aristocrat who has paid for a painting and the painter RICH PERSONS VIEW

however does draw to some conclusions, and right to say children were working more than now

Question 4

cultural reasons that childhood is a social construct

Answer 4

• torbiand islanders (malinowski)
  found adults took an attitude of ‘tolerance; towards children’s sexual exploration, children take. responsibility at a young age less value on children’s obedience

Question 5

causes of the modern notion of childhood

Answer 5

• postman (printing press)
• shorter (concept of romantic love)
• schools
• 18th-century books on hand-rearing

Question 6

the modern cult of childhood ARIES

Answer 6

argues that we are ‘obsessed’ with childhood

• laws restricting child labor
• compulsory education
• child protection laws

Question 7

dissapearence of childhood postman

Answer 7

‘childhood is dissappearing at a dazzling speed”

creation of printing press created aninformation hierrchy which created seperatness. children cant read so are protected. but the introduction of technology has exposed children to. more information at younger age which is decreasing their innocence

Question 8

evaluation of dissapearence of childhood

Answer 8

• opie argues childhood is not dissaprearing strong evidence continues sepreatness through unsupervised games rhyms and songs

similarly the value placed on TV is overstated by postman with many paretns still not allowing their children acsess to media until appropraite age

Question 9

Jenks childhood in postmodernity

Answer 9

family diversity and more choice= more unstable relationships with child is only secure relationship. so they are evenmore protected than ever

childhood isnt dissapearing but its changing famileis are just becoming more child-centered

Question 10

evaluation of Jenks

Answer 10

choices are based on middle class life. not all people have such freedom to choose
many famileis cant be child centered due to money issues
also not all families nurture children chidl abuse

Question 11

childhood hasn’t improved

Answer 11

• toxic childhood
• inequalities among children
• inequalities between adults and kids (age patriarchy)

Question 12

childhood has improved

Answer 12

• march of progress
• child-centered families
• child-centered society
• modern cult of childhood

Question 13

Toxic childhood

Answer 13

technology: TVs in bedrooms cant control what children are exposed to
video games unhealthy and anti-social

marketing to children: pester power

evaluation: technology can have benefits as we live in a technology-centered world it can benefit children as a life skill

Question 14

bonke on inequalities amongst children

Answer 14

found that girls do more domestic labour especially in lone-parent families where they do five times more housework than boys

Question 15

class inequalities between children

Answer 15

• poor mothers more likley to have low birth weight babies

- children of unskilled manual workers are over 3x more likely to suffer from hyperactivity

Question 16

inequalities amongst children

Answer 16

we cannot speak of children in general as if they are all equal- social class, gender and ethnicity affect their life chances

Question 17

inequalities between adults and children

Answer 17

• control over children’s space
  (signs such as ‘no school children ‘ or increased surveillance on children in public spaces)
• control over children’s time
  (adults control daily routine such as when they get up, eat, and play)

-control over adults body
(how they sit, walk, run what they wear and how they touch. their own bodies which contrast to sexual freedoms in non-industrial cultures)

Question 18

Gittins and age patriarchy

Answer 18

• inequalities of adult domination in the family especially from men who see themsleves as having all power over members

this power may today assert itself in violence against children and women
Humphrey found that 1/4 of the 200 women in their study left their partners over fear of their children’s lives

Question 19

march of progress view of childhood

Answer 19

• over the past. few centuries, the position of children in western societies has been steadily improving.

for example children, today are protected from harm and exploitation by laws against child abuse and child. labor

better healthcare also improved infant mortality

Question 20

child-centered family (financial)

Answer 20

higher living standards and smaller family sizes mean that parents can afford to look after children correctly

by 21 a child has cost a family around 227,000

children are no longer to be ‘seen and not heard’ they are now a focal point of family

Question 21

child-centred society

Answer 21

much media output and many leisure activities are designed specifically for children

Question 22

the new sociology of the child

Answer 22

post modernists belive we must take the perspective of a child and not look at childhood from an ‘adultsist view’ seeing children as ‘socialisation projects’

Question 23

personal life perspective

Answer 23

smart- new approach aims to include views and experiences of children themselves while they are living in their childhood

smart et al- study of divorce found that from being the passive victim’s children were actively involved in making the situation better for everyone

Question 24

child liberationists view

Answer 24

• age patriarchy (gittins)

- new sociology of childhood

Question 25

what is the globalisation of western childhood

Answer 25

• the globalisation of western childhood is the idea that the western notion of childhood being a seperate and innocent time has been imposed on developing countries through humanitarian campaigns

such as ending ‘street children’ whcih imposes western view of where children ought to be and disregarding that this may be the cultural norm

Question 26

criticism of the globalisation of western childhood

Answer 26

it is unlikley that these campaing has any impact of the position of children in such countries

Question 27

evidence of children being abused

Answer 27

in 2013 43,000 children were subject to child protection orders

Question 28

criticism of age patriarchy

Answer 28

some adult controls over children’s like are justified because they cannot think rationally

although children remain under adult supervision they arent as powerless as child liberationists claim
laws protect them
such as the 1989 children act

Question 29

how many calls do childline get every year?

Answer 29

20,000

Question 30

hockney and james

Answer 30

two reasction to the age partiarchy

• acting up
• acting down

Question 31

prout on inequality

Answer 31

there are dividions within western countries that shows that march of progress isnt happening for everyone

ex. 43,000 child protection orders in 2013

Question 32

how many children in poverty 2014-15

Answer 32

3.9 million