Childhood

Question 1

How do sociologists view childhood?

Answer 1

As socially constructed- something created and defined by society

Question 2

What do sociologists argue?

Answer 2

what people mean by childhood and the status of children in society, is not fixed but DIFFERS between times, places and cultures,

This can be illustrated by comparing the western idea of childhood in the past and in other cultures

Question 3

Who argues the most important feature of childhood is separation ?

Answer 3

Jane Pilcher

Question 4

Jane Pilcher

Answer 4

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

Question 5

How can Jane Pilcher’s theory about the emphasis of separateness and separate status between children and adults be illustrated ?

Answer 5

-laws regulating what children can or cannot do
-separateness through dress
-products
-services
-toys, food, play areas etc

Question 6

What else can be related to this notion of ‘separate status’ ?

Answer 6

‘Golden age’

Question 7

Define the concept of ‘golden age’.

Answer 7

Golden age of happiness and innocence

HOWEVER
this innocence mean 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

Question 8

In what ways are children in their ‘golden age’ protected?

Answer 8

children’s lives are lived in the sphere of family and education, where adults provide for them and protect them

Question 9

Is separate status found in all societies?

Answer 9

separate age-status is not found in all societies

Question 10

Who argues that because childhood is socially constructed there is not one single universal experience of childhood ?

Answer 10

Stephen Wagg

Question 11

Stephen Wagg

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Who argues that in pre-industrial society, children as we know them did not exist?

Answer 12

Philippe Aries (1960)

Question 13

Philippe Aries (1960)

Answer 13

Argues 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

Question 14

What work did ‘little adults’ do during the pre-industrial era?

Answer 14

-expected to help out in productive activities in the households
-may well be apprenticed out to learn a trade

Question 15

Law’s view of children in pre-industrial era

Answer 15

7 and 8 year olds were seen as criminally responsible
-this means they they could be tried and punish for crimes such as stealing on similar basis to adults

Question 16

Aries argued that 2 factors could explain why society did not regard children as objects of love and devotion ?

Answer 16

• 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 that they were given adult responsibilities at a younger age

Question 17

How long did the view of ‘little adults’ remain?

Answer 17

Aries argues that the view remained common well into the 19th century with young children often being employed to work in mines and factories

Question 18

When did the ‘little adult’ view come to an end?

Answer 18

-around middle of 19th century
-Aries argued that infant mortality rate started to decrease with improvements in sanitation and diet
-with the increasing affluence of m.c and the attitudes of m/c parents began to evolve
-as children became regarded as objects of love and devotion

Question 19

Aries noted that a specific class still continued to treat children as ‘little adults’, which class is this and why?

Answer 19

Working class

-w/c families tended to be dependent on their children’s income for survival

Question 20

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children

Answer 20

-laws restricting child labour
-introduction of compulsory schooling in 1880
-child protection and welfare legislation
-growth of idea of children rights
-declining family size and lower infant mortality rates
-laws and policies that apply specifically to children
-shift from agriculture to factory production

Question 21

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Laws restricting child labour

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Introduction of compulsory schooling in 1870

Answer 22

The introduction of compulsory schooling in 1870
especially for the children of the poor
raising the school leaving age and recent government policies to keep children in i full time education of training until the age of 18 has extended this period of dependency

Question 23

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Child protection and welfare legislation

Answer 23

Child protection and welfare legislation, such as the 1989 Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act.

Exactly a century later, the 1989 Children Act made child welfare a fundamental pricniple underpinning the work of agencies such as social services

Question 24

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Growth of idea of children rights

Answer 24

Growth of idea of children rights

For example the Children Act defines parents as having ‘responsibilities’ rather than ‘rights’ in relations to children

Question 25

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Laws and policies that apply specifically to children

Answer 26

Laws and policies that apply specifically to children, such as minimum ages for a wide range of activities from sex to smoking

-reinforce the idea that children are different from adults and so different rules must be applied to their behaviour

Question 27

Reasons for the changes in the position/status of children:
Shift from agriculture to factory production

Answer 27

most sociologists agree that the process of industrialisation
-shift from agriculture to factory production as the basis of the economy -underlies many of the changes.

e.g
compulsory education, so next workforce is educated

Question 28

What is a key factor in bringing about the modern idea of childhood?

Answer 28

Industrialisation

Question 29

Industrialisation

Answer 29

key factor in bringing about the modern idea of childhood and the changed status of children

Question 30

Has the status of children improved?

Answer 30

childhood is socially constructed and varies between different periods, places and cultures

-there are important differences between childhood in western societies compared with both present-day and third world countries and european societies in the past

-e.g
middle ages
child labour was a basic fact of life for almost all children, while schooling was available only to wealthy

Question 30

What does the ‘march of progress’ view argue?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Which writers hold the ‘march of progress’ view?

Answer 31

Aries and Shorter

Question 32

Aries and Shorter

Answer 32

Aries and Shorter hold the ‘march of progress’ view they argue that today’s’ children are more valued, better cared for, protected and educated, enjoy better health and gave more rights than those of previous generations

Question 33

Family has become more ….

Answer 33

child-centred, with parents investing a great deal in their children emotionally as well as financially

Question 34

Children protected from harm and exploitation today by

Answer 34

laws against child abuse, child labour

Question 35

Which sociologists have a conflicting view of ‘march of progress’ ?

Answer 35

Marxists and Feminists

Question 36

Marxists and Feminists view on ‘march of progress’

Answer 36

-hold a conflicting view
-argue that society is based on a conflict between 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 RS between the groups as one domination and subordination , in which the dominant group acts as oppressors

Question 37

Conflict sociologists argue that the ‘march of progress’

Answer 37

view of modern childhood is based on a false and idealised image that ignores important inequalities

Question 38

Conflict sociologists criticise the ‘march of progress’ based on two grounds:

Answer 38

-there are inequalities among children in terms of the opportunities and risk they face: many today remain unprotected and badly cared for

-the inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever: children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency, not greater care and protection

Question 39

2 major inequalities among children

Answer 39

-Not all children share the same status or experiences

-Also more important class differences between children

Question 40

Not all children share the same status or experiences:

Answer 40

-children of different nationalities are likely to experience different childhoods and different life chances
90% of all the world’s low birth-weight babies are born in the 3rd world

-gender differences between children.
E.G Hillman (1993) boys more likely to be allowed to cross or cycle on roads, use buses and go out after dark unaccompanied

-ethnic differences; BRANNEN’S (1944) study of 15-16 year old found that Asian parents were more likely that other parents to be strict towards their asian daughters

Question 41

Important class differences between children:

Answer 41

-poor mother more likely to have low birth-weight babies which may delay physical and intellectual development

-according to Woodroffe, children from manual backgrounds are more likely to be hyperactive and suffer long-standing illnesses than children of professionals

Question 42

Child liberationists

Answer 42

see the need to free children adult control

Question 43

Child liberationists believe that adult control takes place in a number of forms such as:

Answer 43

-neglect and abuse
-control over child’s space
-control over child’s time
-control over children’s bodies

Question 44

Adult control
Neglect and abuse:

Answer 44

Neglect and abuse, either physical, sexual or emotional

Question 45

Adult control
Control over child’s space:

Answer 45

Control over child’s space- children are told play in some areas and are forbidden to be in others such as some shops and hotels

Question 46

Adult control
Control over child’s time:

Answer 46

Control over child’s time-
adults in modern societies control children’s daily routines, including when they get up, eat, got school, go to bed etc

Question 47

Adult control
Control over children’s bodies:

Answer 47

Control over children’s bodies-
including how they sit, walk and run and what they wear, whether they can be picked-up, cuddled or even smacked

Question 48

Who uses the term ‘age patriarchy’ ?

Answer 48

Diana Gittens

Question 49

Diana Gittens

Answer 49

uses term ‘age patriarchy’ to describe to describe the inequalities between adults and children.

This power may still assert itself in the form of violence against both children and qomen

Question 50

Power of ‘age patriarchy’

Answer 50

This power may still assert itself in the form of violence against both children and women

Question 51

Evidence support power of age patriarchy

Answer 51

Cathy Humphreys and Ravi Thiara (2002)

Question 52

Cathy Humphreys and Ravi Thiara (2002)

Answer 52

found a quarter of the 200 women in their study left their abusing partner because they feared for their children

-such findings support Gittins’ view that patriarchy oppresses children as well as women

Question 53

Critics of the child liberationist view argue…

Answer 53

that some adult control over children’s lives is justified on the grounds that children cannot make rational decisions and so are unable to safeguard their interests themselves

Question 54

Critics of liberationist view argue (2)…

Answer 54

although children remain under adult supervision they are not as powerless as the child liberationist claim

e.g
1989 Children Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child establish the principle that children have legal rights to be protected and consulted

Question 55

Which sociologist argues that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’ ?

Answer 55

Neil Postman (1994)

Question 56

Neil Postman (1994)

Answer 56

he points to the trend towards giving children the same rights as adults, the disappearance of children’s traditional unsupervised games, the growing similarity of adult and children’s clothing and even to cases of committing ‘adult crimes such as murder

Question 57

In Postman’s view the cause of both the emergence of childhood and now its disappearance lies in…?

Answer 57

lies in the rise and fall of print culture and its replacement by television culture

Question 58

Explain how TV is the cause of both the emergence of childhood and now its disappearance ?

Answer 58

TV blurs the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy

Unlike the printed word, TV does not requrie special skills to access it, and it makes information available to adults and children alike.

The Boundary between adult and child ins broken down, adult authority diminishes and the ignorance and innocence of the childhood is replaced by knowledge and cynicism

Question 59

Which sociologists opposes Postman?

Answer 59

Iona Opie (1993)

Question 60

Iona Opie (1993)

Answer 60

-argues that childhood is not disappearing

-based on a lifetime of research into children’s games, rhymes and songs conducted with her husband Peter Opie, she argues that there is strong evidence of continued existence of separate children’s culture over many years

Question 61

Opie’s findings contradict whose claims?

Answer 61

Opie’s findings contradict Postman’s claim that children’s own unsupervised games are dying out.

Their studies show that children can and do create their own independent culture separate from that of adults

Question 61

Who suggests that some children in the UK today are experiencing ‘toxic childhood’ ?

Answer 61

Sue PALMER (2006)

Question 62

Sue PALMER (2006)

Answer 62

suggests that some children in the UK today are experiencing ‘toxic childhood’

ARGUES that rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development

Question 63

What are the rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development according to Sue PALMER (2006)

Answer 63

These changes range from junk food, computer games, and intensive marketing to children to the long hours worked by parents and the growing emphasis on testing education

Question 64

Which sociologists have expressed concerns about young people’s behaviours ?

Answer 64

Julia Margo and Mike Dixon (2006)

Question 65

Julia Margo and Mike Dixon (2006)

Answer 65

drawing on recent studies
-report that UK youth are at or near the top of international, league tables for obesity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, early sexula relationships and teenage prenancies

Question 66

UNICEF survey 2007

Answer 66

ranked the Uk 21 out of 25 for children’s well-being

Question 67

Concerns about young peoples bhevaioirs reveals what?

Answer 67

Anxiety that the modern notion of childhood as an innocent and protected stave is under threat

Question 68

Why is it hard to draw conclusions about the modern notion of childhood as innocent being under threat ?

Answer 68

For two reasons:
-firstlt not all children are affected equally by these negative trends. there are clusters of young people, namely those growing up on the poor end of the social scale, who live desperate lives, while other do not

-secondly it depends on which aspect of childhood we look at, some aspects siggest the continuation of childhood a s aseprate age status, while others suggest it may be disappearing or changing