Childhood Flashcards
Benedict (1934)
argued children in simpler, non-industrial societies are generally treated differently than their western counterparts in 3 ways: They take responsibility at a young age
Punch (2001)
found rural Bolivia that children worked from the age of 5
Less value is placed on children showing obedience to adults
Firth (1970) found in the Tikopia tribe doing as you are told by a grown up is
regarded as a concession to be granted by the child not expected by the adult
Children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently
Malinowski (1957) found amongst the Trobriand Islanders adults took an attitude of tolerance and amusement towards children’s sexual explorations and
activities
Globalisation of Western Childhood
Some sociologists argue that western views of childhood are now being globalised.
International humanitarian and welfare agencies have exported and imposed on the rest of the world, western norms of what childhood should be. For example campaigns against child labour, or concerns about street children.
Aries (1960)
investigated works of art from various periods
of time and looks at three different key points in time that are relevant to our understanding of childhood today.
Middle Ages 10th – 13th Century
The idea of childhood did not exist
• Children were not seen as different to adults once they had passed the stage of physical dependency
• Worked from an early age
• The law made no distinction between children and adults and children often faced the
same severe punishments as those meted out to adults
Shorter 1975
argues that high infant mortality rates meant parents did not form emotional attachments to their children, which encouraged indifference and neglect. For example parents often gave babies the same name as a deceased sibling or forgot how many children they had had.
The Cult of Childhood 13 th Century onwards
Aries argues that this is when the modern view of childhood starts to emerge.
Schools started to specialise in education just for the young
This reflected the influence for the church where children were seen as the ‘creatures of god’
Growing distinction between children’s and adults clothing
By the 18 th century handbooks on child rearing had started to emerge – showing childcentredness
The Century of the Child 20 th Century
According to Aries we are now in a world that is obsessed with childhood and he calls this ‘the century of the child’.
Why has childhood changed?
Laws restricting child labour
The introduction of compulsory schooling
The growth of the idea of childrens rights
Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates
Children’s development became a subject of medicak knowledge
Laws and policies that apply specifically to children
March of progress
march of progress view argues that for children in western societies childhood has gradually improved over the past few centuries
Palmer 2010
Toxic childhood
Junk food
• Computer games and social media – the ‘electronic village’
• Intensive marketing to children
• Long working hours of parents
• Growing emphasis on testing in education
Child liberationism
Neglect and abuse
Control over children’s space
Control over childrens time
Control over childrens bodies
Control over childrens access to resources
Humphreys & Thiara (2002)
found that a 1⁄4 of 200 women in their study left abusive relationships because they feared for their children’s safety. This supports the idea by Gittins that patriarchy effects and oppresses children as much as women.
