Childhood

Question 1

what has globalisation allowed for

Answer 1

Globalisation has allowed for the exploration of the western definition of childhood.

Question 2

what idea of childhood has globalisation brought

Answer 2

It has led to the idea that childhood is separate, dependent, vulnerable and based on the nuclear family has been globalised by western campaigns such as international humanitarian groups and welfare agencies that reflect western ideas of childhood.

Question 3

example of campaigns for childhood that globalisation has brought

Answer 3

Campaigns against child labour or concerns about ‘street children’ in developing countries reflect Western views about how childhood ought to be, whereas, in fact, such activity by children may be the norm for the culture and an important preparation for adult life. However, such campaigns have little impact on the position of children in developing countries. The infant mortality rate in Ethiopia is 41 deaths per 1000 live births

Question 4

what has happened to the meaning of childhood overtime

Answer 4

what it means to be a child varies over time

Question 5

what is it called when the meaning of childhood has changed over time

Answer 5

Social Construction of Childhood

Question 6

sociologists behind the social construction of childhood

Answer 6

Aires
Shorter

Question 7

what does Aires argue

Answer 7

Aires argues that childhood is a modern invention that did not exist in the Middle Ages. Childhood was not separate from adulthood, parental attitudes towards childhood in the middle ages were also very different from those today.

Question 8

what does Shorter argue

Answer 8

Shorter argues that high death rates encouraged indifferences and neglect as the new borns replaced dead siblings.

Question 9

Aires study

Answer 9

Aires used artwork from the period to draw these conclusions, the paintings showed children and adults dressed in the same clothing, playing and working together, they were depicted as adults on a smaller scale and were in effect ‘mini-adults’. For example, the law often made no distinctions between children and adults and children often faced the same severe punishments as those given to adults.

Question 10

when did Childhood come into existence and according to who

Answer 10

According to Aires, childhood came into existence in the 13th century onwards this is referred to as the Modern Cult of Childhood

Question 11

what factors led to the modern cult of childhood

Answer 11

1. The church promoted the idea that they were fragile ‘creatures of god’ in need of protection
2. Age appropriate clothing developed in the 17th century. Upper-class boys would be dressed in outfits reserved for their own age, setting them apart from adults.
3. Child-rearing books developed in the 18th Century - a sign of the growing child-centeredness of family life,

Question 12

what world did those factors create

Answer 12

According to Aires, these developments created a world-obsessed with childhood. He argues that we have moved from a world that did not see childhood as anything special, to a world obsessed with childhood - a modern cult of childhood, Society has become more child centered.

Question 13

eval of Aires

Answer 13

Pollock argues that in the Middle Ages, society simply had a different notion of childhood from todays. It didnt ‘not exist’. Aires use of paintings - lacks validity

Question 14

what else had childhood become

Answer 14

A social construct

Question 15

what is the social construction of childhood

Answer 15

What childhood means depends on the time period, the countries or the cultures they are raised. It is not fixed but a constantly changing idea.

Question 16

factors under the social construct of childhood

Answer 16

Western Constructs of Childhood
Cross Cultural Constructions of Childhood
Changing Positions of Childhood

Question 17

sociologists behind Western Constructs of Childhood

Answer 17

Pilcher
Wagg

Question 18

western constructs of childhood

Answer 18

It is generally accepted in Western societies that childhood is special and differs from adulthood. Children are physically and psychologically immature, they lack skills, knowledge and experience meaning that they need a lengthy period of protection, nurturing and socialisation before they are ready for adulthood.

Question 19

what is the most important feature o the western construct of Childhood

Answer 19

According to Pilcher, the most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness from adulthood. Childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage and children in our society have a separate status from adults. This is emphasised in several ways, through laws regulating what children are allowed, they also have different clothes and entertainment

Question 20

what is related to the separateness of childhood

Answer 20

Related to this is the idea of childhood as a ‘golden age’. Children are happy, innocent and ignorant and need protection from the outside world.

Question 21

eval of the western constructs of childhood

Answer 21

This view of childhood as a separate age status is not found in all societies, it is not universal. According to Wagg, ‘there is no single universal childhood, experienced by all’. While all humans go through the same stages of physical development, cultures construct or define this process differently

Question 22

sociologists behind the cross-cultural constructions of childhood

Answer 22

Ruth Benedict
Punch

Question 23

cross-cultural constructions of childhood

Answer 23

Interactionists often compare the Western construction of childhood with that of other nations. This exposes how childhood can be seen as a social construction. Benedict argues that children in simpler-non industrial societies are generally treated differently from their modern Western counterparts in 3 ways

Question 24

ways in which children in simpler-non industrial societies are generally treated differently from their modern Western counterparts

Answer 24

1. They take responsibility at an early age, punchs study of childhood in rural Bolivia found that once children are about 5 years old they are expected to take work responsibilities without question or hesitation
2. Children do not have to show obedience to adult authority as there is less value placed on it. Firth found that children are not expected to obey adults
3. Children’s sexual behaviour is viewed differently. Child marriage in the Indian state of Bihar, 39% of women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18. Benedict argues that in many rural cultures, there is much less of a dividing line between the behaviour expected of children and that expected of adults. This illustrates the idea that childhood is not a fixed thing found universally in the same form in all human societies but it is socially constructed and differs from culture to culture

Question 25

why has children positions changed

Answer 25

Society has become more child-centred

Question 26

factors under changing positions of children

Answer 26

1. Compulsory schooling
2. Welfare State Support
3. Children’s legal rights
4. Smaller Families
5. Growing parental fears for child safety
6. Higher Standards of Living
7. Laws and Policies that apply specifically to children

Question 27

compulsory schooling

Answer 27

The introduction of compulsory schooling in 1880 had effects on children from all social classes as the raising of the school-leaving ages extended their period of dependency

Question 28

welfare state support

Answer 28

Welfare state support for children, child protection and welfare legislation such as the 1889 Prevention of Cruelty to children act. Exactly a century later, the 1989 children act made the welfare of the child the fundamental principle underpinning the work of social service agencies

Question 29

childrens legal rights

Answer 29

There has been a growth in the idea of children’s rights. For example, the Children Act 1989 defines parents as having responsibilities rather than rights in relation to children, while the UN convention on the Rights of the Child lays down the basic rights sich as entitlement to healthcare and education, protection from abuse and the rights to participate in decisions that affect them like custody cases.

Question 30

smaller families

Answer 30

Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates have encouraged parents to make a greater financial and emotional investment in the fewer children that they now have.

Question 31

growing parental fears for child safety

Answer 31

Children’s development became the subject of medical knowledge. Donzelot studied how theories of child development that began to appear in the 19th century stressed that children need supervision and protection

Question 32

higher standards of living

Answer 32

The higher standards of living and better welfare provision have led to better childhood experiences

Question 33

laws and policies that apply specifically to children

Answer 33

laws and policies that apply specifically to children such as minimum ages for a wide range of activities from sex to smoking have reinforced the idea that children are different from adults and so different rules must be applied to their behaviour. In addition, laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work have made them financially dependent on their parents as children are no longer economic assets who could earn a wage but they have become an economic liability.

Question 34

what underlines the changes to children’s position

Answer 34

Industrialisation. For example, the modern industry needs an educated workforce and this requires compulsory schooling of the young, It is thus a key factor in bringing about the modern idea of childhood and the changed status of children

Question 35

what is the future of childhood

Answer 35

Childhood continues to change as society itself changes

Question 36

sociologist behind that future of childhood

Answer 36

Postman

Question 37

the disappearance of childhood

Answer 37

Postman argues that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’. He points to a trend towards giving children the same right as adults, the dissapreances of children’s traditional unsupervised games even to cases of children committing adult crimes like murder.

Question 38

what is the cause of the disappearance of childhood

Answer 38

In Postman’s view, the cause of the disappearance of childhood lies in the rise and fall of print culture and its replacement by television culture. Postman argues that childhood emerged as a separate status from the 19th century onwards. This is because the printed world created an information hierarchy, a sharp division between adults, who can read, and children who cannot. This gave adults the power to keep knowledge about ‘adult matters’ a secret from children. However, television blurs the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy. Unlike the printed world, TV does not require special skills to access it and it makes information available to adults and children alike, which breaks down the boundary between adult and child, diminishes adult authority and replaces childhood innocence with knowledge and cynicism.

Question 39

evaluation of the disappearance of childhood

Answer 39

Opie argues that childhood is not disappearing, based on a lot of research into children’s unsupervised games, rhymes and songs. She argues that there is strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate children’s culture over the years. While Postman’s study is valuable in showing how different types of communication technology such as print and television can influence the way in which childhood is constructed. However, he over-emphasises a single cause - television - at the expense of other factors that have influenced the development of childhood.

Question 40

examples of the disappearance of childhood

Answer 40

1. Tiktok like many social media platforms lacks effective parental controls that allow parents to monitor and limit their children’s use of the platform
2. 2018 survey conducted by common sense media found that 41% of children aged 8-12 reported watching reality TV, and 72% of teens aged 13-17. R.TV shows often feature adult themes. Children who watch these shows may be exposed to adult language, behaviour and situations that may blur the line between childhood and adulthood.

Question 41

other views of childhood

Answer 41

Postmodern Childhood
The March of Progress View
Toxic Childhood
Conflict View of Childhood
Inequalities between Children and Adults
The view Sociology of Childhood

Question 42

sociologist behind the post-modern childhood

Answer 42

Jenks

Question 43

postmodern childhood

Answer 43

Jenks disagrees with postman and argues that childhood is not disappearing but simply changing. For Jenks, modern society was concerned with futurity and childhood was seen as a preparation for the individual to become a productive adult in the future. Now, however, Jenks argues childhood is undergoing change as society moved from modernity to postmodernity. Adult life is now unstable and insecure for example, divorce is more common. Adults are then fearful of the child’s protection in this uncertain world, this leads to increased monitoring of the child’s whereabouts and behaviours. This further strengthens the view of children as vulnerable to adults in postmodern families. For this reason, Jenks disagrees with Potsman, he argues that childhood continued to be a separate status

Question 44

eval of Jenks

Answer 44

Jenks overgeneralises. There is greater diversity in family life and childhood not all children would be in the same position, a single WC mom may not have the time and means at her disposal to constantly survey her child

Question 45

sociologist behind the march of progress view

Answer 45

Aires
Mause

Question 46

march of progress view

Answer 46

They argue that over the past centuries, the position of children in society has been steadily improving and today it is better than it has been. According to Mause ‘the history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only recently begun to awaken. The further back in history one goes, the lower the level of children and the more likely children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorised and sexually abused’. Aires supports this view and argues that children today are more valued as they now have legal protections from harm with laws against child abuse and child labour being out in place coupled with laws that grant them the right to education and healthcare.

Question 47

what has the family become - march of progress view

Answer 47

The family is now child-centred. There are now smaller family sizes down from 5.7 births per woman in the 1860s to 1.53 2021 (ONS), this means that parents can afford to provide for children’s needs. Children are no longer to be ‘seen and not heard’ like in the Victorian times. Instead, they are now the focal point of the family, consulted on many decisions as never before. Parents are increasingly seeking out their children’s opinions on household decisions such as what to have for dinner. A study conducted by the Journal Appetite found that parents are more willing to modify their food choices in response to their child’s preferences

Question 48

sociologist behind toxic childhood

Answer 48

Palmer

Question 49

toxic childhood

Answer 49

Against the march of progress view, some sociologists suggest that children in the UK are experiencing Toxic Childhood. Palmer argues that technological change has damaged children’s physical, psychological and emotional development. Parents long working hours have led to inadequate socialisation, children are eating more junk food, on social media, playing video games and the intensive marketing to children has made childhood more toxic. For example, UK youth have above-average rates in international league tables for obesity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and teen pregnancies.

Question 50

conflict view of childhood

Answer 50

Conflict sociologists like Marxists and Feminists argue that the March of Progress view is based on a false and idealised image that ignores inequalities in childhood, they criticise the march of progress view on certain grounds

Question 51

factors under the conflict view of childhood

Answer 51

1. Inequalities amongst Childhood
2. Inequalities between children and adults
3. Age patriarchy

Question 52

inequalities among children

Answer 52

Not all children share the same status or experiences. For example, children of different nationalities are likely to experience different childhoods and different life chances. 90% of the worlds low birth weight babies are born in developing countries. There are also gender differences between children. For example, according to Hillman, boys are more likely to be allowed to cross or cycle on roads, use buses and go out after dark unaccompanied. Bonke found that girls do more domestic labour, especially in lone parents’ families, where they do five times more housework than boys. Similarly, there are ethnic differences, Brannen found that Asian parents were more likely than other parents to be strict towards their daughters.

Question 53

class inequalities among children

Answer 53

Poor mothers are more likely to have low birth weight babies which causes delayed physical and intellectual development later in childhood. Children born into poor families are more likely to die in infancy or childhood, suffer a longstanding illness, be shorter in height, fall behind in school, placed on the child protection register. Thus we cannot speak of children as if they are all equal - social class, gender and ethnic differences affect their life chances.

Question 54

inequalities between children and adults

Answer 54

There are major inequalities of power between children and adults. March of Progress writers argue that adults use this power for the benefit and protection of children. For example, by passing laws against child labour. However, firestone argues that many of the things that March of Progress writers see as care and protection are just new forms of oppression and control. For example, according to Fire Stone, protection from paid work is not a benefit to children but a form of inequality as it is a way of making children more dependent, powerless and subject to adult control than previously.

Question 55

ways adults control children

Answer 55

Neglect and Abuse
Controls over children’s space
Controls over children’s time
Controls over children’s bodies
Controls over Childrens Acess to resources

Question 56

neglect and abuse

Answer 56

Adult control over children can take the extreme form of physical neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse. In 2020, according to the Children in Need Census, 50,000 children were subject to child protection plans because they were deemed to be at risk of significant harm from their own parents. The childline charity receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying that they have been sexually or physically abused. Such figures indicate a dark side to family life of which children are the victims

Question 57

control over childrens space

Answer 57

Children’s movements in industrial societies like Britain are highly regulated. Children are told to play in certain areas and forbidden to play in others. There is increasingly close surveillance over children in public spaces especially at times when they should be in school. Similarly, fears about road safety and ‘stranger danger’ have led to more children being driven to school rather than travelling independently. For example, in 1971, 86% of primary school children travelled to school unaccompanied by 2020 it was down to 47%. This contrasts with the independence of many children in developing countries. Katz described that rural Sudanese children roam freely within their villages.

Question 58

controls over childrens time

Answer 58

Adults in modern society control children’s daily routines including the times when they get up, go to school, eat, play etc. Adults also control the speed at which children ‘grow up’. It is they who define whether a child is too young or too old for a particular activity

Question 59

control over childrens bodies

Answer 59

Adults exercise control over children’s bodies, including how they sit, what they wear and whether or not they can get ear piercings. At the same time, adults restrict the way in which children may touch their own bodies. For example, a child may be told not to pick their nose, suck their thumbs or play with their genitals

Question 60

control over childrens access to resources

Answer 60

Children have only limited opportunities to earn money in industrial societies and so they remain economically dependent on adults. Child benefits go to parents, labour laws and compulsory schooling. Pocket money given may depend on ‘good behaviour’ and have certain restrictions on what it should be spent on

Question 61

age patriarchy

Answer 61

The patriarchy oppresses women and children. Gittens argues that there is an age patriarchy of adult domination over children. She points out that patriarchy means rule by the father and that the term patriarchy refers originally to the power of the male head over all other members of the household. Today this power asserts itself in the form of violence against women and children. For example, a quarter of the 200 women in Humphreys and Thiana’s study left their abusive partner because they feared for their children’s lives.

Question 62

the new sociology of childhood

Answer 62

Previous views see childhood as socially constructed, and while this helps us to understand how childhood changes over time, according to Mayall, it seems children as passive subjects with no control over their identities and development, it sees children as mere socialisation projects for adults to mould, shape and develop. The new sociology of childhood sees children as active agents who create their own childhoods according to Smart. This enables sociologists to explore the diverse multiple childhoods that exist in society - poor childhoods etc. Similarly, smarts study of divorce found that children were actively involved in the process rather than being passive victims. Further, Mason and Tripper argue that children create their own definitions of who is family.

Question 63

criticisms of the conflict view

Answer 63

Critics of child liberationists (conflict sociologists) argue that some form of adult control is justified on the grounds that children cannot make rational decisions and so are unable to safeguard their interests themselves. They also argue that although children remain under adult supervision they are not as powerless as child liberationists claim. For example, the 1989 children act established the principle that children have legal rights to be protected and consulted.