Topic 1 Families and Households Flashcards
How was childhood viewed in the middle ages 10th-13th century
The idea of childhood did not exist
Worked from an early age
Law made no distinction between children and adults and children often faced same punishments as adults
How was childhood viewed from the 13th century onwards [The cult of childhood]
Schools start to specialise in education just for the young
Aries argues that this is when the modern view of childhood starts to emerge
How was childhood viewed in the 20th century [The century of the child]
Aries says we are now in a world that is obsessed with childhood
What did Punch find
In rural Bolivia children worked from the age of 5
What did Malinowski find
Amongst the Trobrian Islanders adults took an attitude of tolerance and amusement towards children’s sexual explorations and activities
What does pollock say
•Pollock criticised Aries for saying childhood did not exist in the middle ages, she simply says the notion of childhood was different
Why has childhood changed
•Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work
•Compulsory schooling 1880
•The growth of the idea of children’s rights
•Laws and policies that apply specifically to children
•Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates [encourages parents to make greater financial and emotional investment]
What does the march of progress View argue
For children in western societies childhood has gradually improved over the past few centuries. Demause says the further back in history we go the more likely children are to be killed,abandoned,beaten and sexually abused
Palmer argues that the UK today is experiencing a toxic childhood through Changes such as:
Junk food
Computer games
Intensive marketing to children
Long working hours of parents
Growing emphasis on testing in education
What is the need to set children free from adult control called
Liberationism
What does Postman say
Childhood is disappearing at a dazzling rate. This is due to
Trend towards giving children the same rights as adults
Disappearance of childhood games
Growing similarity of adults and children’s clothing
Cases of children committing adult crimes such as murder
