childhood Flashcards
childhood is a social construct - childhood in postmodernity - jenks
childhood is social construct created during 20th century by modern society when childhood was seen as time where children have to be protected and nurtured by family and edu system
modern society is concerned with futurity and childhood is seen as preparation to become productive adults in future - for this, vulnerable child needs to be nurtured, protected and controlled - idea that childhood is separate stage to adulthood
childhood is a SC - jenks criticism
over generalises experience of childhood and study used small sample
childhood is a social construct - historical differences - aries
studied diaries and paintings - in middle ages idea of childhood didnt exist - mini adults with same rights as adults. high child mortality rates led to neglect towards infants
childhood started to emerge in 13th century - church presented children as ‘fragile creatures of god’ in need of protection and discipline - schools created to do this
20th century - children became economically worthless but emotionally priceless - seen as in need of love - century of the child as families became child centred
childhood is a SC - aries criticism
pollock - rather than not existing in middle ages, people just had different ideas of childhood
childhood not a social construct - biological view
childhood - period of physical + mental development which occur through several stages - each bringing one closer to adulthood
childhood not a SC - biological view criticism
childhood not natural biological stage in life - if it was, all children would have same exp
position of children - improved - aries and shorter
children more valued, better cared for, educated.
march of progress view - childrens lives improving and are now better than ever.
family and society = child centred - media output and leisure activities designed for children, parents invest emotional work, time and money into children
position of children - improved - butler et al
children have more rights - laws to protect them and even take them away from parents for protection
used group discussions and in depth interviews with 8-11 yr old about role in family decisions - found they had a lot of say
position of children - not improved - jenks
post modernity - adult relationships - unstable, prone to breakdown, relationships with children = stable and last forever - adults invest more time in relationships with children as it gives them sense of identity and security.
makes parents more fearful for children’s safety - children are vulnerable and in need of protection - childhood = separate stage from adulthood
position of children - not improved - furedi
paranoid parenthood - parents worry about children’s safety - prevent them from going out - leads to children staying indoors eating junk food - obesity epidemic - dont develop social skills - damages experience of childhood
position of children - improved for some based on CGE
gender:
hillman - boys have more freedom
bonke - girls do more domestic labour
ethnicity:
brannen - asian parents more strict especially towards girls bhatti - cultural idea of izzat particularly applied to girls
class:
howard - w/c suffer from material and cultural deprivation
position of childhood - evaluation - smart and mayall
theories are deterministic - see children as passive objects with no say in their own childhood.
mayall calls this adultist view - no interest in children themselves only what they’ll become in the future
argue to understand childhood it needs to be looked at from childrens POV as children can influence their own experiences
future of childhood - death of childhood - postman
mass media brought adult world into children’s lives - boundary breaking down so children grow up too quickly and lose innocence and become more like adults
evidence - underage sex, drinking and smoking
3 stages in development and death of childhood:
middle ages - speech only skill needed to participate in adult world so children able to enter adult world from early age
19th century - childhood emerges as separate stage from adulthood - information hierarchy - adults withhold info from children about sex, money, violence, death
late 20th century - information hierarchy destroyed - children gain access to unsuitable info so enter adult world and lose childhood
future of childhood - postman criticism
overemphasises influence of tv and ignores other factors that affect development of childhood
future of childhood - childhood is disappearing - qvotrup
childhood disappearing due to falling birth rates - fewer children born = lesser need for investment into children’s resources and childhood becoming isolated experience as fewer children in family and neighbourhood
