The Conflict view of Childhood

Question 1

Which sociologists adhere to the conflict view of childhood?

Answer 1

• Marxists and feminists

Question 2

Why do conflict sociologists disagree with the functionalist march of progress view?

Answer 2

• they believe it’s based on a false and idealised image which ignores important inequalities that children face

Question 3

What are the two areas where they believe there are inequalities?

Answer 3

• among children and between adults and children

Question 4

Name the four inequalities/ differences they believe exist among children

Answer 4

Nationality, gender, ethnicity and social class

Question 5

Inequalities among children - social class 
What are poor mothers more likely to have and what is this linked to?

Answer 5

• low birth weight babies which is linked to delayed physical and intellectual development

Question 6

What are the five areas that they believe demonstrate inequalities between adults and children?

Answer 6

• neglect and abuse
• control over children’s space
• control over children’s time
• control over children’s bodies
• control over children’s access to resources

Question 7

Name the different types of neglect and abuse

Answer 7

Physical, sexual, emotional

Question 8

How are children’s movements controlled in industrial societies?

Answer 8

• high regulated and under close surveillance, restricted from certain areas

Question 9

What have fears about road safety and ‘strange danger’ led to

Answer 9

Closer controls

Question 10

How are children’s daily routines controlled?

Answer 10

• they’re told when to get up, eat, go to school, play, sleep

Question 11

How do adults control the speed in which children ‘grow up’?

Answer 11

• they define whether a child is too old or too young for activities, responsibilities and behaviours

Question 12

How are children’s bodies controlled?

Answer 12

• what they wear
• have their hair
• run, walk etc
• it is taken for granted that they can be hugged, patted, cracked, picked up etc

Question 13

Why do children remain economically dependent?

Answer 13

• they have limited opportunities to earn money

Question 14

What do labour laws and compulsory school exclude children from?

Answer 14

• part time, low paid jobs

Question 15

Who is child benefit paid to?

Answer 15

The parent and not the child

Question 16

How is pocket money an example of children’s access to resources being limited?

Answer 16

• it is given on parents discretion and there may be restrictions for what it’s spent on

Question 17

What are the two ways that Hockey and James identify as being ways that children resist the status of child and restrictions that come with being a child?

Answer 17

Acting up and acting down

Question 18

Why do critics of the child liberationist view argue that some adult control over children’s lives is justified?

Answer 18

• because children cannot make rational decisions and so are unable to safeguard their interests

Question 19

What do critics of the the child liberationist view point out about children?

Answer 19

• that children are not as powerless as the child liberationists claim

Question 20

Give an example of an act in 1989 and say what it established

Answer 20

• Children Act: established the principle that children have legal rights to be protected and consulted

Question 21

Inequalities among children - nationality

How do those of different nationalities have different experiences?

Answer 21

• different experiences of childhood and life chances (can suffer discrimination even within the UK)

Question 22

Inequalities among children - gender

How can contrasts between the treatment of girls and boys affect how childhood is experienced?

Answer 22

• boys = more likely to have more freedom, come home later alone, go out more frequently
• girls = do more housework (5x more on average), more limited

Question 23

Inequalities among children - ethnicity

How are girls treated differently within some ethnic communities?

Answer 23

• Asian parents are more likely to be strict on girls

- ideas of ‘izzat’ (family honour) can be restricting for girls

Question 24

Inequalities among children - social class
How much more likely are the children of unskilled workers to suffer from hyperactivity?

Answer 24

• 3x