Childhood

Question 1

What was pre-industrial childhood like?

Answer 1

Aries (1962) analysed old paintings and found:

• Children were seen as ‘little adults’
• Parents gave low emotional investment
• Children were an economic asset
• Adults and children did the same activities

Question 2

What was industrial childhood like?

Answer 2

• Children moved from sexual ignorance to innocence
• More family portraits - start of ‘family’
• Education began
• Children became separated by age at school
• This created a power divide

Question 3

What is current-day childhood like?

Answer 3

• Creation of the nuclear family
• Rise of the upper class
• Emergence of child-centeredness
• Places and services just for children
• Considered physically and psychologically immature

Question 4

The march of progress view is the idea that we are currenty living in the ‘____________________’. This is due to many factors, such as ___________ improvements (such as low infant mortality rate), compulsury ___________, and the child-___________ aspect of society.

Answer 4

golden age of childhood
medical
education
centredness

Question 5

The conflict view is the idea that childhood has ____________ like the March of Progress view thinks. This is because there are many ____________ between children and their ____________ of childhood. These inequalities come in the form of social, gender and ethnic inequalities. It also believes childen are being ____________.

Answer 5

not improved
inequalities
experience
controlled

Question 6

What are the five ways that the conflict theory think children are being controlled?

Answer 6

• Neglect and abuse
• Control over space
• Control over time
• Control over bodies
• Acess to resources

Question 7

The new sociology of childhood sees children as active _______ who play a major part in creating their own childhoods. Carol _______ (2011) says the new approach aims to include the _______ of children themselves.

Answer 7

agents
Smart
views

Question 8

What are some examples of cross-cultural differences in the experience of childhood?

Answer 8

In Uganda, children fend for themselves from the age of 3.

In India, child brides is very common, with 47% of girls being married before the age of 18. These are almost always arranged.

Question 9

What is a social construct?

And who defined it?

Answer 9

Stephen Wagg (1992) said that a social construct was something that is created and defined by society. It is anything that changes over time and from place to place.

Question 10

What are some examples of social constructs?

Answer 10

• Childhood
• Government
• Family
• Steretypes
• Discrimination
• Time

Question 11

What are the two contrasting perspectives about modern-day childhood?

Answer 11

• March of progress view
• The conflict view

Question 12

What are the two contrasting perspectives about the future of childhood?

Answer 12

• Neil Postman ‘dissapearance of childhood’
• Jenks viewpoint (postmodernist)

Question 13

Toxic childhood is the viewpoint that society has _____________ effects on children. This is reflected by the decline of outdoor play, _____________ of early childhood and _____________.

Answer 13

damaging
schoolification
commercialisation

Question 14

“Childhood is dissapearing at a ____________ speed”
___________ believes that childhood is dissapearing for reasons such as; children have the same _________ as adults, they are committing ‘adult _________’ and the destruction of the information ____________.

Answer 14

dazzling
Postman
rights
crimes
information hierarchy

Question 15

The information ________ is where children were protected from certain information and content that was seen as not ________ for children. Postman says ________ has destroyed this, and children are ________ to explicit content at a young age.

Answer 15

hierarchy
suitable
TV
exposed

Question 16

What is a evaluation of Postman?

Answer 16

Postman may have over-emphasised how large of an impact TV has had on childhood. Most adult content is locked behind a 10pm curfew, and children are normally watching childrens television anyways.

Opie (1993) says children still have separate culture.

Question 17

Jenks claims childhood is not dissapearing, but it is _________ to adapt to postmodern society. He says childhood is still very _________ to adults. He says relationships have become _________ to due many reasons, and this has led to _________ in adults and putting more emphasis on their relationship with their child, and have become pre-occupied with _________ them from society.

Answer 17

changing
separate
unstable
insecurity
protecting