Sociology-Families and Households-Childhood Flashcards
How do sociologists view childhood?
As a social construction-it is created and defined by society, so it isn’t fixed, but instead differs between time, places and cultures
What is the basic idea of childhood in western society?
It’s a special time of life and children are fundamentally different from adults. They are physically and psychologically immature, and not yet competent to run their own lives. The belief is that they lack skills, knowledge and experience so they need a length, protected period of nurturing and socialisation before they are ready for adult society and its responsibilities
What does Pilcher note?
The most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness. Childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage where children occupy a separate status from adults
How is the idea of separateness emphasised?
Through laws regulating what children are allowed, required, or forbidden to do. Also in differences in dress, products and services
What idea is related to the separateness of children’s status?
The idea of childhood as a ‘golden age’ of happiness and innocence
What does innocence of children mean?
Children are seen as vulnerable and in need of protection from the dangers of the adult world and so must be ‘quarantined’ and separated from it, resulting in children living largely in the sphere of family and education, where adults provide for and protect them
How are children’s time spent different to adults?
They lead lives of leisure and play, and are largely excluded from paid work
What does Wagg argue?
The view of childhood as a separate age status, is not found in all societies, it isn’t universal, so while humans all go through same stages of physical development, the process is defined differently within different cultures
How are children defined in western cultures today?
As vulnerable and unable to fend for themselves, whereas other cultures don’t necessarily see such a great difference between children and adults
What is a good way to illustrate the social construction of childhood?
By taking a comparative approach, and look at how children are seen/treated in other times/places
What does Benedict argue?
Children in simpler, non-industrial societies are generally treated differently from their modern western counterparts in three ways
What are the three different ways that childhood is different in non-industrial societies?
They take responsibility at an early age (Punch and Holmes), less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority (Firth) and Children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently (Malinowski)
What did Punch find?
Study of childhood in rural Bolivia, found once children are 5 years old, they are expected to take work responsibilities in the home and community-tasks are taken on without question/hesitation
What did Holmes find?
Study of Samoan village found ‘too young’ was never a reason for permitting a child to undertake a particular task-if a child thinks they can handle an activity, then parents don’t object
What did Firth find?
Found among the Tikopia of the Western Pacific, doing as your told by a grown-up is regarded as a concession to be granted by child, not a right expected by the adult
What did Malinowski find?
Found adults took an attitude of ‘tolerance and amused interest’ towards children’s sexual explorations and activities, among the Trobriand Islanders of South west Pacific
What does Benedict argue about many non-industrial cultures?
That there is much less of a dividing line between behaviour expected of children and that expected of adults. Evidence illustrates key idea that childhood isn’t fixed, but is socially constructed and so differs from culture to culture
How are the western notions of childhood being globalised?
International humanitarian and welfare agencies have exported and imposed on the rest of the world, western norms of what childhood should be
What is an example of childhood becoming globalised?
Eg campaigns against child labour, or concerns about ‘street children’ in developing countries, reflect western views about how childhood ‘ought’ to be, when it may be the norm in their life and preparation for adult life
Who talks about childhood in the past?
Ariès
What does Ariès argue about the middle ages?
The idea of childhood did not exist. Children were not seen as having a different nature or needs from adults once they had passed the stage of physical dependancy during infancy
What are examples of how middle age children were seen as ‘mini-adults’?
Laws often made no distinction between children and adults, and children often faced the same severe punishments as those meted out to adults. Also they went out to work
What does Ariès use as evidence?
Works of art from the Middle Ages, where children appear ‘without any of the characteristics of childhood: they are simply depicted on a smaller scale’-same clothes, jobs and leisure
What did Shorter find about parental attitudes in the middle ages?
High death rates in the middle ages encouraged indifference and neglect, especially towards infants, eg common for parents to give a newborn baby the same name as a recently dead sibling, or referred to the baby as ‘it’. Also may forget how many children they had had
What shows Ariès’ view that elements of the modern notion of childhood were emerging in the 13th century?
Schools cam to specialise in education of young-reflecting influence of church (children are fragile creatures from god that need discipline and protection), growing distinction between children and adult clothing in 17th century, and by 18th century handbooks on childrearing were widely available reflecting the growing child centredness
What does Ariès say that these developments highlight?
The modern ‘cult of childhood’, arguing we moved from a world that saw children as mini adults, to a society obsessed with children. 20th century= the century of the child
Who criticised Ariès view?
Pollock
What does Pollock argue?
Criticises Ariès for arguing that childhood didn’t exist in the past, instead it is more correct to say that in the Middle Ages, society had a different notion of childhood from today’s
Why is Ariès’ work valuable?
It shows that childhood is socially constructed as he demonstrates how ideas about children and their social status have varied over time
What are the changes during the 19th and 20th century that have led to changes in the position of children?
Laws on labour/work, compulsory schooling, child protection and welfare legislation, growth of idea of children’s rights, declining family size/lower infant mortality rates, medical knowledge and laws/policies that only apply to children
How have laws on labour/work changed the position of children?
There are laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work. From becoming economic assets who could earn a wage, children became an economic liability, financially dependant on their parents
How did the introduction of compulsory schooling change the position of children?
Happened in 1880, and mainly effected poor children as middle-upper class children were already in education. It increases dependancy on parents, especially by raising school leaving age
How has child protection and welfare legislation led to the change in position of children?
1889 prevention of cruelty to children act and the 1989 children act, made welfare of children the fundamental principle underpinning the work of agencies such as social services
How has the growth of children’s rights changed the position of children?
Children act defines parents as having responsibilities rather than rights in regards to children, while the United nations convention on the rights of the child 1989 lays down basic rights such as entitlement to healthcare ad education, protection from abused and the right to participate in decisions that affect them, such as custody cases
How does declining family size and lower infant mortality rate change the position of children?
It encourages parents to make a greater financial and emotional investment in the fewer children that they have
How has medical knowledge changed the position of children?
Children’s development became the subject of medical knowledge, and Donzelot observed how theories of child development that began to appear from 19th century, stressed that children need supervision and protection
How do laws and policies that only apply to children change the position of children?
Eg minimum ages for certain activities such as smoking, have reinforced the idea that children are different from adults and so different rules must be applied to their behaviour
