Lesson 5 - Is Childhood Disappearing

Question 1

Define panorama

Answer 1

-panorama examines the growing concern about the sexualisation of children in the UK

Question 2

Postman - Disappearance of childhood

Answer 2

Middle Ages - people illiterate, speech only skill needed to be adult. Children entered adult world quickly
19th century - mass literacy led to info hierarchy. Created division between those who could read(adults) and those who couldnt(children). Adults able to hide knowledge
Now - television blurs distinction between adulthood and childhood. Info is widely available. Boundaries are broken down and children become knowledgable

Question 3

Iona opie - a separate childhood culture

Answer 3

-disagrees and argues that childhood is not dying.
-conducted lifetime research into children’s games and rhymes and songs a and argues that there’s strong evidence for children’s culture

Question 4

Childhood in postmodernity

Answer 4

-Jenks - does not believe childhood is disappearing, but its hanging
-he believes modern society was about preparing the child to be a successful adult and therefore needed to be protected and controlled

-in postmodern society, parents relationships with their children is their constant in a world of uncertainty
-adults become even more fearful and protective

Question 5

The new sociology of childhood

Answer 5

-the main focus of sociology research is how childhood has or has not changed
-some sociologists argue this prevents children from making their own childhoods.

Mayall - we risk seeing children from an ‘adultist’ viewpoint and are at risk of being socialisation ‘project’

Other would say children are active agents in creating their own childhood:
-mason and tipper - children make their own definitions of family
-smart - children are actively involved in making situations better in cases of divorces