childhood Flashcards
childhood
a social construct - something created and defined by society.
Pilcher (modern western notion of childhood)
the most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness, childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage, and children in society occupy a separate status from adults
western culture of childhood
children are defined as vulnerable and unable to fend for themselves.
e.g laws, the way theu dress etc
cross- cultural differences in childhood (1)
they take responsibility at an early age -
Punch: children at age 5 onward are expected to take work responsibilities in the home and community in rural bolivia
cross - cultural differences in childhood (2)
less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority -
Firth: found that is the western pacific doing as you are told by a grown up is regarded as a concession to be granted by the child, not a right to be expected by the adult.
changes over time - childhood in the middle ages
aries
Aries (1960) - ‘the idea of childhood of did not exist’
children were not seen as having a different ‘nature’ or needs from adults
childhood in middle ages
childhood as a separate-life stage was short.
children were ‘mini adults’ with the same rights, duties and skills as adults.
e.g law often made no distinction between children and adults, and children often faced severe punishments like adults
aries evidence
paintings which show children and adults dressed in the same clothing and working and playing together
growth of a child-centred society-
schools
schools came to specialise purely in the education of the young.
reflected the influence of the church which increasingly saw children and fragile ‘creatures of god’. - in need of discipline and protection
growth of a child-centred society
clothing
growing distinction between children and adults clothing by 17th century, an upper-class boy would be dressed in an 'outfit reserved for his own age group, which set him apart from adults
Pollock’s criticism of Aries
she argues that it’s more correct to say that in the Middle Ages, society simply had a different notion of childhood from todays
reasons for changes in position of children
- industrialisation
most sociologists agree that the process of industrialisation - the shift from agriculture to factory production as the basis of the economy - underlies many changes. e.g modern industry needs an educated workforce and this requires compulsory schooling of the young.
reasons for the changing positions
- laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work
- the introduction of compulsory schooling
- child protection and welfare legislation
- the growth of childrens righsts
TOXIC CHILDHOOD - sue Palmer
Palmer - rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development.
changes range from junk food, computer games, growing emphasis on testing in education etc
toxic childhood statistics
UK youth have above average rates in international league tables for obesity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse etc
the disappearance of childhood
- Postman
Postman argues that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’
he points out: - the trends toward giving children the same right as adults
- the disappearance of childrens unsupervised games
- the growing similarity of adults and childrens clothing
- cases of children committing ‘adult’ crimes such as murder
in Postman’s view, whats the cause for the emergence of childhood, and now it’s disappearance?
the rise and fall of print culture and its replacement by television culture
the information hierarchy
Postman argues that childhood emerged as a separate stage along with mass literacy because the printed word creates an information hierarchy: a sharp divide between adults who can read and children who cant.
childhood became associated with innocence and ignorance because the information hierarchy gave adults the power to keep knowledge about sex, money, violence etc
how does television destroy the information hierarchy
unlike the printed word, TV doesn’t require special skills to access it, and it makes information available to adults and children alike.
boundary between adult and child is broken down, adult authority diminishes, and ignorance and innocence is replaced by knowledge and cynicism.
evaluation of the disappearance of childhood
Opie - childhood is not disappearing. researched childrens unsupervised games, rhymes and songs - strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate childrens culture over many years
Postman overemphasises a single cause of tv
the commercialisation of childhood
- children are targeted as consumer group
- pester power
- links to Marxism
the globalisation of western childhood
international humanitarian and welfare agencies have exported and imposed on the rest of the world, western norms of what childhood should be - a separate life stage, based in the nuclear family and school, in which children are innocent, dependent and vulnerable, and have no economic role.
e.g campaigns against child labour
childhood in post modernity
jenks:
- relationships are at risk because the only thing holding them together is individual fulfilment (no tradition/religion)
- therefore parent-child relationships have become more important as these are a permanent relationships (unlike marriage) Relationships with children is the one thing adults can rely on
- —- this makes childhood unlikely to disappear
evaluation of jenks
- guilty of over generalising. despite the greater diversity of family and childhood patterns , he makes sweeping statements that imply that all children are in the same position
march of progress view
in 1990, the infant mortality rate was 154 per 1000 live births, today it is 4 per 1000
conflict view
- march of progress of modern childhood is based on a false and idealised image that ignore important inequalities and criticises it on ;
1. there are inequalities among children in terms of the opportunities and risks they face; many today remain unprotected and badly cared for
2. inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever; children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency.
hillman
boys are more likely to be allowed to cross or cycle on roads, use buses or go out after dark unaccompanied
bonke
girls do more domestic labour - especially in lpf where they do 5x more housework than boys
brannen
study of 15-16 year olds found that asian parents were more likely than other parents to be strict towards their daughters
bhatti
found that ideas of family honour could be a restriction, particularly on the behaviour of the girls
class inequalities among children
- poor mothers likely to have low brith-weight babies, which is in turn linked to delayed physical and intellectual development
- children of unskilled manual workers are over 3x more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and 4x more likely to experience conduct disorders than the children of professionals
- children born into poor families are also more likely to die in infancy, to suffer longstanding illness, fall behind in school and to be placed on child protection register
firestone and holt
argues many of the things that march of progress writers see as care and protection are in fact new forms of oppression and control e.g ‘protection’ from paid work is not a benefit to children but a form of inequality. it’s a way of forcibly segregating children, making them more dependent, powerless and subject to adult control than previously
- these critics see the need to free children from adult control - child liberationism
childline
receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying they have been sexually or physically abused
Adults control over children is over their:
Space
Time
Bodies
Access to resource
cunningham
the ‘home habitat’ of 8 year olds has shrunk to 1/9 of the size it was 25 years earlier
gittins
there is an age patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency which keeps children lower and dependent on adults
evidence that children may find childhood opressive - james
‘acting up’ - acting like adults by doing things that children are not supposed to do , such as swearing, joy riding and under-age sexual activity `
’ new sociology of childhood ‘
theory that argues children create their own childhoods and are not ‘socialisation projects’ for adults
mayall
There is danger of seeing children as passive objects with no part in childhood = adultist viewpoints where children seen as mere socialisation projects
New sociology of childhood = approach does not see children as adults in making but sees children as active agents who plays major part to create childhood
the childs pov - smart
Argues we need to include views and experiences of children themselves in sociological views of childhood
mason and tipper
children actively create their own definitions of who is ‘family; - which may not include people who are not ‘proper’ aunts and grandfathers etc, but who they regard as close
smart et al divorce study
instead of being passive victims, children were actively involved in trying to make the situation better for everyone
