Childhood Flashcards
Childhood as a social construction…
Sociologists (Cunningham 2006) see childhood as socially constructed; in other words, as something created and defined by society.
They argue that what people mean by childhood, and the status of children in society, is not fixed but differs between different times, places and cultures.
This can be illustrated by comparing the western idea of childhood with childhood in the past and in other cultures.
Proof of social construction…
The social construction of childhood argument also points out that childhood is not a fixed, universal experience. Rather, it is a relative experience dependent upon a number of social factors. This relativity of childhood experience can be illustrated in a number of ways.
In many less developed nations, the experience of childhood is extremely different from that in the industrialised world. Many children in such countries are constantly at risk of early death because of poverty and lack of basic health care, clean water and sanitation. They are unlikely to have access to education and may find themselves occupying adult roles as workers or soldiers.
Experience of childhood may differ across ethnic and religious groups, e.g. there is evidence that children in Muslim, Hindu and Sikh families generally feel a stronger sense of obligation and duty to their parents than White western children. Inter-generational conflict is therefore less likely or is more likely to be hidden.
Experiences of childhood may differ according to gender role socialisation, e.g. there is some evidence that girls are subjected to stricter social controls from parents, compared with boys, when they reach adolescence.
Some children’s experiences of childhood may be damaging. Different types of child abuse have been re-discovered in recent years, such as neglect and physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Up to 30 000 children are on child protection registers, because they are at risk of abuse from family members.
The three characteristics of childhood…
> It was the opposite of adulthood – children were seen to be in need of protection, to have the right not to work and to be dependent on adults.
> The world of the adult and the world of the child were to be kept separate – the home and the school were regarded as the ideal places for children and they were often banned from adult spaces such as workplaces.
> Children were seen to have the right to ‘happiness’.
The modern, western idea of childhood…
Jane Pilcher argues that the most important feature of childhood is separateness. Childhood is seen as a distinct life stage, and children in our society occupy a separate status from adults.
This can be illustrated in several ways, for example, through laws regulating what children are allowed, required or forbidden to do.
Their difference from adults is also illustrated through differences in dress, especially for younger children, and through products and services specially for children, such as toys, food, play areas and so on.
The golden age…
Related to this separate status is the idea of childhood as a ‘golden age’ of happiness and innocence.
However, this innocence means that children are seen as vulnerable and in need of protection from the dangers of the adult world and so they must be separated from it.
However, this view of childhood as a separate age-status is not found in all societies.
Stephen Wagg argues that because childhood is socially constructed there is not one single universal experience of childhood.
This means that, while all humans go through the same physical process of ageing, different societies construct or define this process differently.
Historical differences in childhood…
Philippe Aries (1960) has argued that in pre-industrial society, children as we know them did not exist. Instead, children were ‘little adults’ who would take on adult responsibilities as young as 7 or 8.
At this age, children would be expected to help out in productive activities in the household (remember that households at this time are more units of production than consumption) and may well be apprenticed out to learn a trade.
In the eyes of the law, 7 and 8-year-olds were seen as being criminally responsible. This means that they could be tried and punished for crimes such as stealing on a similar basis to that of adults.
He found this by looking at painting of the time.
There was a very high level of infant mortality.
Life was very ‘hand to mouth.’ Children had to work in order for the family unit to survive, which in turn meant they were given adult responsibilities at a younger age.
Aries argues that the view of children as ‘little adults’ remained common well into the 19th century, with young children frequently being employed to work in mines and factories.
However, around the middle of the 19th century, Aries argued that the infant mortality rate started to decrease with improvements in sanitation and diet. With the increasing affluence of the middle classes, the attitudes of middle class parents started to change and children started to become regarded as objects of love and devotion.
Aries also notes that the working classes tended to still view their children as little adults, as working class families tended to be dependent on their children’s income for survival.
Cross cultural differences…
Benedict, 1934, [comparative approach].
3 distinct differences between modern ‘western’ children and children from simpler, non industrial societies.
Earlier Responsibility (Holmes – Samoa)
Less Obedience to Adult Authority (Firth – Tikopia)
Sexual Behaviour (Malinowski – Trobriand Islands)
Responsibility - Holmes…
In Samoa, children are seen as the future of their family, of their community and of their nation. In this way, they are seen as a divine blessing. Families, as a result, are generally very protective in regard to their children.
However, as they are seen as the future Children undergo work at a very young age.
Work such as farming is expected of children in order to ensure the new generation are educated and have responsibility for the welfare of the community.
Sexual behaviour - Malinowski…
From as early as 6 to 13, boys and girls are encouraged to sleep with each other. Hence, they are taught erotic and intimate games. To show their interest, they offer their currency, a tuber of yam, to their intended partner. They go into a special hut called the “bukumatula”. When she stays there until sunrise, it is assumed that they are married. Her mother brings cooked yams which they eat.
For those who want to look more attractive, they can resort to love and beauty magic.
Around this age, girls wear shells waist decorations to show their social class. The shells can contain “magic” to attract men.
Reasons for the change in positions/status of children…
Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work. Children became an economic liability by being financially dependent on their families rather than an economic asset.
The introduction of compulsory schooling in 1880 had a similar effect, especially for children of the poor. The raising of the school leaving age, and recent government policies to keep children in fulltime education or training until the age of 18 has extended this period of dependency.
Child protection and welfare legislation, such as the 1889 Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act. Exactly a century later, the 1989 Children Act made child welfare a fundamental principle underpinning the work of agencies such as social services.
The growth of the idea of children rights. For example, the Children Act defines parents as having ‘responsibilities’ rather than ‘rights’ in relation to children.
Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates. These have encouraged parents to make a greater financial and emotional investment in the fewer children that they now have.
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.
Most sociologists agree that the process of industrialisation ( the shift from agriculture to factory production) as the basis of the economy underlies many of the above changes.
For example, modern industry needs an educated workforce and this requires compulsory schooling of the young. Similarly, the higher standards of living and better welfare provision that industry makes possible lead to lower infant mortality rates. Industrialisation is thus a key factor in bringing about the modern idea of childhood and the changed status of children.
The Children Act 2004…
The Children Act (2004) has produced the influential policy Every Child Matters which focuses on the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19. This stresses ‘better outcomes’ for children, such as ‘being healthy, staying safe’, and ‘achieving economic well-being’ at the centre of all government policies. Increasingly, children have come to be seen by the State as individuals with rights.
The ‘march of progress’ view…
These differences raise the question of whether the changes in the status of childhood that we looked at earlier represent an improvement. The ‘march of progress’ view argues that, over the past few centuries, the position of children in western societies has been steadily improving and today is better than it has ever been. Writers such as Aries and Shorter hold a ‘march of progress’ view.
They argue that today’s children are more valued, better cared for, protected and educated, enjoy better health and have more rights than those of previous generations.
For example, children today are protected from harm and exploitation by laws against child abuse and child labour, the family has become child-centred, with parents investing a great deal in their children emotionally as well as financially.
Child-centredness…
Improved living standards in terms of wages, housing, sanitation, nutrition, hygiene and improvements in maternal health care led to a major decline in the infant mortality rate. People no longer needed to have lots of children in order to ensure that a few survived.
As society became more affluent, so children were needed less as economic assets and raising children became more expensive. Parents therefore chose to have fewer children.
The increased availability and efficiency of contraception allowed people to choose to have fewer children.
Child-centredness, culture, and the state…
Cultural expectations about childhood changed as the media defined childhood and adolescence as separate categories from adulthood. Parents came to see childhood as a special time in terms of love, socialisation and protection.
The State became more involved in the supervision, socialisation and protection of children. The State supervises the socialisation of children through compulsory education which lasts 11 years. The role of social services and social workers is to police those families in which children are thought to be at risk. The government also takes some economic responsibility by paying child benefit to parents.
Critics…
However, conflict sociologists such as Marxists and feminists dispute this.
They argue that society is based on a conflict between different social groups such as social classes or genders.
In this conflict, some groups have more power, status or wealth than others. Conflict sociologists see the relationship between groups as one of domination and subordination, in which the dominant group act as oppressors.
