The Nature of Childhood

Question 1

Define ‘childhood’.

Answer 1

The social construction of an experience a child has before they turn into an adult.

Question 2

How has childhood changed overtime in the UK?

Answer 2

It has become more child-centred.

Question 3

Define ‘infant mortality rates’.

Answer 3

The number of babies who die before the age of 1 per 1,000 live births.

Question 4

Describe how children were treated in the 15th Century in the UK.

Answer 4

Due to infant mortality rates being high from lower standards of living, children under the age of 3 weren’t expected to live so parents were more cautious of growing too attached and treating them as their children.

Question 5

What is industrialisation and when did it occur in the UK?

Answer 5

It occurred in the 18th Century and involved the mass introduction to manufacturing with the production of many factories.

Question 6

Describe how children were treated in the 18th Century in the UK.

Answer 6

• Childhood didn’t exist as a separate concept
• Parents would treat their children as though they were already adults
• They were expected to take on adult roles as soon as they were physically able to
• Therefore started working in factories at the age of 7

Question 7

Identify a sociologist who talks about childhood in the 18th Century.

Answer 7

Philippe Aries (1960) argued that children and childhood didn’t exist due to being seen as ‘little adults’ that took on adult roles at age 7. Similarly there was less devotion based on children due to them being seen as criminally responsible as could be tried fro stealing, etc.

Question 8

How did industrialisation change how society treated children?

Answer 8

• Many children worked in factories due to being small enough to get into some machines and fix them and due to their energy
• Many children were dying in these conditions due to illness from the poor hygiene in factories or due to the machines themselves
• Restrictions on child labour in mines and factories were put in place after attitudes changed to seeing them as in need of protection
• Introduction of the 1944 Butler Education Act meaning education is compulsory until 18

Question 9

Explain how the UK became more child-centred during the 20th Century.

Answer 9

• Families have gotten smaller and so more care can be devoted to each child
• Working hours decreased to 44 instead of 70 allowing parents to spend more time with their children
• Higher wages can benefit children as more money can be spent on them and their activities - pester power
• Introduction of the NHS (1948) provided a range of benefits to help parents care for their children as well as increasing demands for them to do it properly - social workers
• Introduction of books to help parents bring up their children encourages them to spend more time caring for them as they’d know how
• Children’s lives are more complex due to increased leisure activities etc allow parents to spend more time when taking them to those places

Question 10

Identify a conventional approach to childhood.

Answer 10

Functionalism and the New Right.

Question 11

What does the conventional approach argue about childhood?

Answer 11

That children should be viewed as vulnerable and in need of protection from adult society that is successfully done through a nuclear family.

Question 12

Identify a sociologist who agrees with the nuclear family being the best form of childhood.

Answer 12

Charles Murray (1980) is critical of single mothers due to being seen as inadequate in maintaining a functional childhood causing social problems and delinquency.

Question 13

Identify 5 sociologists who take on the conventional approach in the view that children need to be protected.

Answer 13

1) Postman (1982)
2) Phillips (1997)
3) Pugh (2002)
4) Evans and Chandler (2006)
5) Sue Palmer (2007)

Question 14

How does Postman (1982) argue that children are not protected from society?

Answer 14

• Childhood is disappearing
• Less time is spend outside causing classic children’s games to disappear in place of TV and video games
• This technology exposes them to the adult world causing a ‘social blurring’ between the stages of being a child to becoming an adult (e.g. part-time job, knowledge of world issues)

Question 15

Define ‘pester power’.

Answer 15

The ability of children to pressure their parents into doing things for them.

Question 16

How does Phillips (1997) argue that children are not protected from society?

Answer 16

• The innocence of childhood has been undermined
• Primary socialisation is losing it’s influence with parenting being undermined by giving too many rights and power to children
• Secondary socialisation is becoming more influential than parents
• The media being aimed at girls leads to the sexualisation of children and so childhood is becoming shorter

Question 17

Define ‘consumption as compensation’.

Answer 17

When parents buy toys and other products for their children to compensate for not being there.

Question 18

How does Pugh (2002) argue that children are not protected from society?

Answer 18

• Consumption as compensation creates manipulative children in consumer-orientated society
• Wealthy parents spend less time with their children due to having demanding jobs causing them to be ‘cash rich and time poor’
• They therefore buy their children gifts to make up for not spending time with them to relieve their guilt

Question 19

Describe what Evans and Chandler’s (2006) study shows about childhood.

Answer 19

• Group interviews with 45 7-11 year olds who talked about negotiating with adults to obtain things - pester power
• 19 parents were interviewed about this pester power and justified their consumption as compensation as they saw it as good parenting
• Interpreted the giving of things to be good communication and signs of love

Question 20

How does Sue Palmer (2007) argue that children are not protected from society?

Answer 20

• Toxic childhood
• Parents use electronics to occupy their children too much and so are deprived of the traditional childhood
• Every year children become more self-obsessed and less able to learn and enjoy life due to having many things done for them
• This rise in pester power allows children to manipulate their parents into getting them things that cause a toxic childhood such as junk food

Question 21

Summarise each of the 5 conventional theory sociologists and their views on childhood.

Answer 21

1) Postman (1982) - TV and video games expose children to the adult world and cause social blurring
2) Phillips (1997) - Children have too many rights which undermines primary socialisation
3) Pugh (2002) - Consumption as compensation
4) Evans and Chandler (2006) - Consumption as compensation is a sign of love and good parenting
5) Sue Palmer (2007) - Toxic childhood of TV and self-obsession limits a traditional childhood

Question 22

What are 5 disadvantages of a child-centred society?

Answer 22

1) Helicopter parents can be overbearing causing lack of freedom and a social life
2) Media creating moral panic of things like kidnappers
3) Children may grow up to be dependent on their parents
4) Children may lack creativity and innovation as they are having everything done for them leading to deskilled workers
5) Economic burdens instead of the assets they used to be

Question 23

Identify a criticising view of the conventional approach to childhood.

Answer 23

Conflict theories such as Marxism and Feminism.

Question 24

What does the conventional approach argue about childhood?

Answer 24

That childhood being a social construction means that it is experienced differently around the world and is sometimes corrupted in child-centred societies.

Question 25

Identify a sociologist who argues against protecting children.

Answer 25

• Gill (2007) argued that paranoid parenting is often a result of the media and the moral panic created by stories about child kidnapping, etc
• This can give rise to ‘helicopter parenting’
• They therefore oversee and control everything their child does in order to create a ‘zero-risk culture’
• This can affect the child’s freedom and social life from isolation, independence, and creativity as parents are often doing everything for them

Question 26

Give 2 examples of case studies that suggest how not all families are child-centred.

Answer 26

1) Baby P - continuously abused by his parents leading to his death. This shows how not all families are child-centred because his parents were careless with the health and safety of their child
2) Genie - locked in a cage in a room, never speaking to anyone and is fed like an animal, never being allowed to leave. This inhibited her ability to speak in later life due to not doing so during development

Question 27

Describe how children are sharing more of the adult world and how rejects the conventional approach.

Answer 27

• Due to technology and the availability of the media, they’re exposed to the same issues as adults and so are less protected against them and society
• The media presents a model image of how women should look which can lead to the sexualisation of children (e.g. young girls wearing make-up and heels)
• Children receive pocket money from their parents and often have part-time jobs

Question 28

How might childhood differ for the rest of the world?

Answer 28

In the developing world childhood is often non-existent.

Question 29

Using an example, briefly describe why poverty can affect childhood in developing countries.

Answer 29

• Young children need to work to provide money for their families, sometimes preventing them getting an education
• Pakistan children work 6 days 10-14 hours a week

Question 30

Using an example, briefly describe why conflict can affect childhood in poorer countries.

Answer 30

• Poorer countries may have less developed military due to financial straits stopping their funding and so will need to recruit as many people as possible, sometimes resorting to children leading to a lack of childhood and education
• In Sierra Leone children are being kidnapped and made child soldiers to fight in civil wars
• There are 25,000 child soldiers in the world today

Question 31

Using a UNICEF statistic, briefly describe why marriage can affect childhood in poorer countries.

Answer 31

• African countries have the highest rates of girls marrying under 18 (UNICEF) and so have less childhood due to spent being a wife
• This involves bearing and caring for children as well as supporting their husband

Question 32

Using a statistic, briefly describe why lack of education can affect childhood in poorer countries.

Answer 32

• Children are often unable to afford school or don’t go altogether due to needing to start work as soon as possible to help provide for family
• This leads to a lack of literary and mathematical skills that will ultimately lead to low paid low-skilled jobs
• 17 million children in the world will never attend school

Question 33

Identify a sociologist who supports a lack of education affecting childhood.

Answer 33

Jefferis (2002) found that children who experienced poverty had significantly fallen behind children from middle class backgrounds in terms of maths and reading.

Question 34

Describe a conclusion for childhood and how it is experienced worldwide.

Answer 34

Childhood being a social construction means that it will change based on culture. Therefore this is why children in the West experience a safer and lengthier childhood than those in developing countries due to having the opportunities they lack.