Childhood

Question 1

What does social construct mean?

Answer 1

Created and defined by society. Different dependent on time, places and culture.

Question 2

What’s an example of childhood being a social construct?

Answer 2

legal age of marriage in UK is 18 and in Sudan it’s 10.

Question 3

How is childhood a social construct?

Answer 3

Not a biological stage of immaturity/natural state and not universal.

Question 4

What are some examples of cross cultural differences in childhood?

Answer 4

1. 215m children in child labour in Sub saharan Africa. 1/10 girls experience serious sexual violence. In Brazil, 25m children are deprived and living in poverty.

Question 4

What did Benedict argue?

Answer 4

In many non-industrial cultures, there is much less of a dividing line between the behaviour expected of children and that expected of adults.
- Childhood not universal but socially constructed, differing from culture to culture.

Question 5

What does historical changes in childhood mean?

Answer 5

Childhood as we understand it today is a relatively recent ‘invention’

Question 6

What does Aries (1960) argue about the historical differences in childhood?

Answer 6

In the Middle Ages (10th-13th) centuries, the idea of childhood didn’t exist. Seen as mini adults and had the same capacity to do everything adults could. No law to distinguish between child and adult & faced same punishments.

Question 7

What does Shorter (1975) argue about the historical differences in childhood?

Answer 7

Argues that high death rates encouraged indifference and neglect towards infants.

Question 8

According to Aries when did the notion of childhood begin to emerge?

Answer 8

From the 13th century onwards.
Described the 20th century as the ‘century of the child’

Question 9

How did the notion of childhood begin to emerge?

Answer 9

1. Schools specialise in education of young.
   - Influence of Church: saw children as the fragile creatures of the young.
2. Distinction between adults and children’s clothing.
3. Handbooks on childrearing - growing child centeredness of family life

Question 10

What’s a criticism of Aries view of the historical differences in childhood?

Answer 10

Pollock (1983) argues that its more correct to say that in the Middle Ages =, society simply had a different notion of childhood from today’s.

Question 11

What are the reasons for the changes in the position of children?

Answer 11

1. 1802 - Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work.
2. 1989 Prevention of Cruely to Children Act 3. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) - protection from abuse, entitlement to healthcare/education.

Question 12

What do other sociologists argue underlines many of these changes in childhood laws?

Answer 12

Industralisation. E.g. modern industry needs an educated workforce and this requires compulsory schooling of the young.
- Higher standards of living and better welfare provision > lower infant mortality rates

Question 13

What does Postman (1994) argue is the reason for the disappearance of childhood?

Answer 13

The trend to giving children the same rights as adults, disappearance of children’s unsupervised games, the growing similarity of adults and children’s clothing.
- Rise and fall of print culture and its replacement by television culture

Question 14

What does Postman (1994) argue is the reason for the historical changes in childhood?

Answer 14

During the Middle Ages, most people were illiterate, speech was only skill needed. Childhood not associated with innocence. No division between the adult and child world.

Question 15

Where does Postman (1994) argue childhood emerged as a result of?

Answer 15

Emerged along with mass literacy from the 19th century. The printed world created an information hierarchy, a sharp division between adults that can read and children that can’t read.

Question 16

What does Postman (1994) argue that this emergence of mass literacy meant for childhood?

Answer 16

Gave adults the power to keep knowledge about sex, money, violence and adult matters away from children. Then childhood became associated with innocence

Question 17

What does Postman (1994) argue destroyed the information hierarchy?

Answer 17

Television. It blurs the distinction bwteen adults and children.
- Unlike printed world, the TV doesn’t require special skills, accessible to both. Boundary broken and adult authority diminishes.

Question 18

What’s a criticism of Postman’s view on the disappearance of childhood?

Answer 18

Opie (1993) argues that childhood is not disappearing. Argues that there is strong evidence of continued existence of separate children’s culture over many years.
- Overemphasises a single cause (television) as the reason.

Question 19

What does Jenks (2005) argue about childhood?

Answer 19

That childhood is not disappearing nor changing. Argues that childhood continues to be a separate status and the legal and other restrictions placed on what children can do continues to mark them off as adults.

Question 20

What does Jenks (2005) argue about the modern idea of childhood?

Answer 20

He argues that childhood was seen as a preparation for the individual to become a productive adult in the future and to achieve this, a vulnerable and undeveloped child needed to be nutured especially by a child centered family and education system.

Question 21

How does Jenks (2005) argue that childhood is undergoing change?

Answer 21

As society moves from modernity to post modernity. In modern society, adult’s relationships were more stable but in post modern society, the pace of change speeds up and relationships become more stable. Can be seen though divorce being more common.

Question 22

What does Jenks (2005) argue that the relationship between adult and child becomes in post-modern society?

Answer 22

Become more fearful for their children’s secuity and even more pre occupied with protecting them from perceived dangers such as child abuse. View that children are vulnerable and need of protection.

Question 23

What’s a criticism of Jenk (2005) view on childhood in postmodernity?

Answer 23

Jenks is over generalising. Despite the greater diversity of family and childhood patterns found today such as lone parent families, he makes sweeping statements that imply all children are in the same position.

Question 24

What does the march of progress view argue?

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

What are Aries and Shorter’s march of progress views?

Answer 25

They argue that todays’s children are more valued, better cared for, protected and educated, enjoy better health and have more rights than those of previous generations.
- E.g. protected from harm and exploitation by laws against child abuse and child labour.

Question 26

Why do march of progress sociologists argue that the family has become more child centered?

Answer 26

Children are now the focal point of the family. parents invest a great deal in their children emotionally and financially and have high aspirations for them to have a better life/opportunities.
- More leisure activities designed specifically for children
- Once a child reaches their 21st birthday, they cost their parents over 227,000

Question 27

Why does Sue Palmer (2007-10) argue that there is a ‘toxic childhood’?

Answer 27

Rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development. E.g. junk food, computer games.
- UK youth have above average rates for obesity, self harm, drug and alcohol abuse.

Question 28

What do conflict view sociologists argue?

Answer 28

That society is based on a conflict between different social groups such as social classes or genders. Some groups have more power, status or wealth than others. Conflict sociologists see the relationship between groups as one of domination and subordination, dominant group act as oppressors

Question 29

What do conflict sociologists argue that the march of progress view of modern childhood is based on?

Answer 29

A false and idealised image that ignores important inequalities.

Question 30

What are the two grounds that conflict sociologists criticise march of progress views on?

Answer 30

1. There are inequalities among children in terms of opportunities/risks they face. Many are unprotected and badly cared for
2. The inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever. Children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency, not greater care and protection.

Question 31

What are some examples of inequalities among children

Answer 31

1. Children of different nationalities are likely to experience different childhoods and life chances.

Question 32

What does Hilman (1993) argue about the inequalities among children?

Answer 32

Gender differences between children. Boys are more likely to be allowed to go out after dark w/o being accompanied.

Question 33

What does Bonke (1999) argue about the inequalities among children?

Answer 33

Girls do more domestic labour, especially in lone parent families, where they do 5x more housework than boys.

Question 34

What does Brannen (1994) argue about the ethnic differences between children?

Answer 34

Study of 15-16 year olds found that Asian parents were more likely than other parents to be strict towards their daughters.

Question 35

What are the class inequalities between children?

Answer 35

1. Poor mothers more likely to have low birth weight babies > delayed physical & intellectual development
2. Children born into poor families are more likely to die in infancy or childhood. Fall behind in school.

Question 36

What do march of progress sociologists argue that the major inequalities between children and adults is used by?

Answer 36

Adults use this power for the benefit and protection of children. E.g. by passing laws against child labour.

Question 37

What do Firestone (1979) and Holt (1974) argue about the march of progress view towards inequalities between children and adults?

Answer 37

Argue that many of things that march of progress writers see as care and protection are just new forms of oppression and control.

Question 38

Why does Firestone (1979) argue that ‘protection’ from paid work is not a benefit to children?

Answer 38

Argue that it’s a form of inequality. It’s a way of forcibly segregating children, making them more dependent and powerless.

Question 39

What is ‘child liberationism’?

Answer 39

A view held by critics of march of progress writers which see the need to free children from adult control

Question 40

What are the 7 ways of adult control?

Answer 40

1. Neglect and abuse
2. Control over children’s space
3. Controls over children’s time
4. Control over children’s bodies
5. Control over children’s access to resources
6. Age patriarchy
7. The child’s point of view

Question 41

What is neglect and abuse in terms of adult control?

Answer 41

Physical neglect or physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
- Childline receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying that they’ve been sexually or physically abused.
- Such figures shows a dark side to family life

Question 42

What is control over children’s space in terms of adult control?

Answer 42

• Children’s movements in industrial societies are highly regulated. E.g. shops may display signs such as ‘no school children’
• Fears over stranger danger
• In 1971, 86% of school children were allowed to go home alone compared to 12% in 2013.

Question 43

What is control over children’s time in terms of adult control?

Answer 43

Adults in modern society control children’s daily routines like when they get up, go to school, eat. Decide whether a child is too young or too old

Question 44

What is control over children’s body in terms of adult control?

Answer 44

Adults exercise enormous control over children’s bodies including how they sit, walk and run, what thy wear.

Question 45

What is control over children’s access to resources in terms of adult control?

Answer 45

Children economically dependent on adults State pays child benefit but goes towards the adult. Pocket money decided on good behaviour. Katz found that Sudanese children were already engaged in productive work from the age of 3/4.

Question 46

What is age patriarchy in terms of adult control by Gittins (1998) ?

Answer 46

Gittins (1998) uses the term to describe the inequalities between adults and children.
- Family (head power = male) over children and women. Patriarchy oppresses children too.
- Humphreys and Thiara (2002) - 1/4 of 200 women in the study left their abusing partner because they feared for their children.

Question 47

What are some oppressive strategies that adults use against children?

Answer 47

Hockey and James (1993) - ‘acting up’ (not acting their age such as swearing, smoking)
- ‘Acting down’ - baby talk - want to escape modern childhood

Question 48

What are two criticisms of the adult control view by child liberationists?

Answer 48

• Argue that some adult control over children is justified on the grounds that children can’t make rational decisions.
• Although children are under adult supervision they aren’t powerless. - UNCRC - Children have the legal right to be supervised and protected.

Question 49

What does Smart (2011) argue about the child’s point of view?

Answer 49

The new approach aims to include the views and experiences of children themselves.
- Study of divorce found that far from being passive victims, children were trying to make the system better for everyone.

Question 50

What is the ‘new sociology of childhood’?

Answer 50

They don’t see children simply as ‘adults in the making’ but as active agents who play a major part in creating their own childhoods.