childhood Flashcards
what stage of development do sociologists see childhood?
a biological stage of development
what type of construct do sociologists see childhood as?
a social construct
how is childhood not universal?
the idea of how children are different from adults in their values, behaviour and attitudes isn’t the same everywhere in the world
what is an example of childhood being a social construct?
minimum legal age for marriage in Britain rose from 12 to 16
what did Jane Pilcher (1995) highlight about childhood?
the separateness of childhood from other life phases
how are children regulated and protected?
through laws
what did Aries (1962) say developed after industrialisation?
a cult of childhood
what did Aries (1962) look at in his study?
paintings
when did Aries (1962) say childhood in Westeren Society began?
300 years ago
what role in society did Aries (1962) find children play in medieval society?
the role of an adult
when were children allowed to take on the role of an adult according to Aries (1962)?
as soon as they were physically able
how did Aries (1962) describe the children in medieval paintings?
mini-adults
what did Aries (1962) say changed after industrialisation?
social attitudes
how did Aries (1962) say people viewed children after industrialisation?
valued as needing specialised care and nurturing
what did Aries (1962) say the importance of the child reinforced?
the importance of the housewife
what class did Aries (1962) say the ‘cult of the child’ first developed in?
m/c but then became part of w/c values
why does Pollack (1983) say Aries (1962) work is weak?
it uses paintings for its main evidence
what do functionalists see the position of children as a sign of?
a sign of progress
what does Shorter (1975) make the argument of?
the march of progress
what do 2 things functionalists think society has a functional need for?
better-education citizens and lower infant mortality rates
what do functionalists say has improved due to school leaving ages increasing?
child protection has improved
what do functionalists say the current position of children is the result of?
positive progression from the past
how has the status of children changed?
society is more child-focused
how does Donzelot (1977) say child development changed in the 19th century?
they began to argue children needed to be protected and supervised
what did Donzelot (1977) the changing of child development to?
the growing medical interest in childhood development
what has happened to the infant mortality rate since the early 20th century
it has dramatically decreased
what was the IMR in 1901?
150
what was the IMR in 2012?
3.9
what is happening to the size of families?
they are getting smaller
why are family sizes getting smaller?
fewer children die in infancy
what is being spent more on children in the family and wider society?
more attention and money
what does the ‘march of progress’ argument suggest?
that families are becoming more child-focused
what does it mean that families are becoming more child-focused?
parents want a better life for their children than they have experienced themselves
3 things that laws restrict children from doing
- their sexual behaviour
- their access to alcohol and tobacco
- the amount of paid work they can perform
what does the Children Act 1989 allow?
for children to be taken away from their parents by the state if it judges the parents to be incapable or unsuitable
what does the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) argue children need?
greater protection
how many children aged 11-17 did an NSPCC report by Radford et al (2011) find experienced sexual abuse in the UK?
1 in 20
how many children aged 11-17 did an NSPCC report by Radford et al (2011) find experienced physical abuse in the UK?
1 in 14
how do child liberationists see society as oppressive to children?
they see increased protection of children and their separation from adult life as oppressive
what does Diana Gittins (1985) argue there is?
an age patriarchy
what is an age patriarchy?
adults maintain authority over children
how do adults achieve an age patriarchy?
using enforced dependency through protection from paid employment, legal controls over what children can and can’t do, and in extreme cases abuse and neglect
what do Hockey and James (1993) say many children wish about childhood?
it’s a stage most children wished to escape from and many restricted
what are 3 factors that childhood varies according to?
class, gender and ethnicity
3 things that children in poverty suffer from?
- poorer health
- a lack of basic necessities
- lower achievement in school
what % of children in the UK were living in low-income households in 2013-14?
17%
what are low-income households?
households earning less than 60% of the median income
what ethnicities did June Statham and Charlie Owens (2007) find are more likely to end up in care than which ethnicities?
black and dual-heritage children were more likely than white or asian children
what % of white british children lived in rural areas in 2011?
22%
what % of bangladeshi and pakistani children lived in rural areas in 2011?
1%
what ethnicity did Julia Brannen (1994) say are more stricter with their daughters than their sons?
asian families
what did Hillman et al (1990) find after studying children aged 7 to 15?
parents generally give boys more freedom than girls to travel around their local areas unaccompanied
what did Bonke (1994) find girls are more likely to perform than boys?
household chores
what societies does Wagg (1992) argue the construction of childhood varies across?
different historical and cultural societies
what do cross-cultural differences mean?
children are not always seen as vulnerable and can have a similar status to adults
what did Punch (2001) find children growing up in the countryside in Bolivia were given?
more responsibilites and work to perform
what attitudes do Punch’s (2001) results contrast with?
attitudes towards child labour that have developed since industrialisation
what did Katz (2004) find Sudanese children have more freedom to do than children in Western societies ?
explore and travel around their local area
what do some sociologists argue is projected onto different cultures?
ideas of Western childhood
what does Judith Ennew (1986) argue humanitarian and welfare work is based on?
the belief that Western childhood is the ‘correct childhood’
what ideas are projected onto cultures that have different views on the needs of children?
the idea that childhood should be a separate, more innocent stage of life
what are children now recognised as having?
unique human rights
when was the Unique Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by all the UN members?
1990
what did the Child Support Agency give children the legal right to do?
be financially supported by their parents whether their parents are living with the child or not
what do advertisers recognise?
the financial power of children
what is pester power?
when advertisers advertise a product to children because they know the children will pester their parents to buy the product
what is the ‘futurity’ of the child identified by Jenks (2005)
children symbolised future potential and were the main concern of society
why does Jenks (2005) think adult relationships are now less dependable?
due to divorce becoming more common, adults prioritise relationships with children instead of their relationships with friends and partners
what do adults seeing children through a lens of nostalgia mean?
children represent the things that society has lost over time which has led to increased protection and surveillance of children
what do critics of Jenk’s theory say?
he makes too many generalisations
what does Palmer (2007) say children are now experiencing?
‘toxic childhood’
what does ‘toxic childhood’ mean?
children lives are now more violent and sexually active which leads to teenage pregnancy, self-harm and addiction
what does Palmer (2007) say technological advancements have done to children’s development?
it has been damaged
what does Neil Postman (1994) believe is happening to childhood?
it is disappearing
why does Neil Postman (1994) believe childhood is disappearing?
because children grow up quickly and experience things only available to adults in the past
what is the disappearance of childhood due to a shift from?
print and literacy culture to visual culture
how can children now access the adult world?
through watching TV
who does Nick Lee (2005) disagree with?
Postman (1995)
what does Nick Lee (2005) argue parents have control over?
financial control and children can only spend as much as their parents allow
what does Opie (1993) argues still exists independently of adult influence?
childhood culture
