childhood

Question 1

What is a social construction?

Answer 1

Not facts but instead just what society has told us.

e.g a child is anyone under 18(society has told us this ,there are no facts)

Question 2

Why is childhood considered to be a social construction?

Answer 2

childhood is whatever society has made it (society has constructed the idea of childhood)

Question 3

List three laws that separate childhood from adulthood in the UK e.g. consider laws surrounding alcohol, driving, sex etc.

Answer 3

• age of consent/ legal to have sex (16)
• 18 to be able to drink alcohol/smoke
• 17 to be able to learn to drive
• have to be in full time education up until the age of education

Question 4

Summarise Philippe Aries’ study:
What did he study?
What did he find?
What criticisms are made of Aries’ study?

Answer 4

• analysed medieval paintings and studied the treatment of children
• he found that children over the age of 7 would be treated as adults, they wore same clothes and participated in the same jobs and activities.( believed this was because they didnt necessarily know their exact age )
• criticism, limited evidence (only looked at pictures), paintings normally only represented the wealthy so doesnt reflect the real experience.

Question 5

What did The Factory Act of 1833 state?

Answer 5

• no child workers under the age of 9
• 9-13 can only work 9 hours a day
• 13-18 work no more than 12 hours a day

Question 6

What did the Children’s Charter of 1889 state?

Answer 6

• the state could now intervene in relations between children and parents
  e. g they could arrest parents and enter homes if they believed a child is in danger.