Topic 12: Roles and Relationships between Parents and Children Flashcards
The extension of childhood
-a change of attitude towards childhood
social status of childhood extends well beyond the age when most
children reach physical maturity.
-the historian
Lawrence Stone (1990) argues that up until the eighteenth century, children were regarded as extra workers In richer families, sons were there to inherit titles and property and daughters to be married off in order to create useful alliances with .
- in modern times that the notion that children need to be loved and
protected has emerged.
The extension of education
plus study
: Education only became compulsory in England in the
1880s. before children…
-Heath notes the
rise of the ‘kippers’ (kids in parent pockets) young people who continue to live with
their parents after they have completed their education
-There is some evidence that increases in rents and house
prices in recent years have meant that many young people are delaying setting up their own homes and fully entering the adult world, remaining in an ambiguous state of being ‘adult-kids’
Separation from the adult world (few full adult legal rights)
They cannot vote until
they are eighteen, have sex until they are sixteen, marry until eighteen (unless they
have parental consent) or smoke or drink until they are eighteen.
Concerns about children:
Paranoid parents? Furedi
Traditionally, ‘good’ parents tried to care for and stimulate their children. Nowadays,
their main task is protecting their children from danger
-the risks of harm to children have been exaggerated and the new focus on protection Is unhealthy.
-increasing mistrust of adults, where they are no longer allies but potential enemies.’
-
The emergence of modern childhood: Child-centredness
-families revolve around children’s needs.
-far greater proportion
of family income is now spent on children, -to the extent that many parents will make
considerable sacrifices for their children’s welfare.
- Parents, especially fathers, also spend
more time in actively parenting children than they did in the past.
The emergence of modern childhood: Smaller families:( think ab what lead to this )
a financial burden on parents as they have been excluded from paid work and the period in which children are financially dependent on parents has been extended. This all
means that the few children that people can afford to have tend to have much
attention, love and interest from the parents.
The emergence of modern childhood: “Child-centred” industries: Child experts:
Children are no longer seen as simply
naturally developing into adults, but as having special needs, and parenting is seen as a skill that parents must learn. Parents are increasingly turning to childcare books written by such specialists as well as websites. tv shows like the supernanny
The emergence of modern childhood:
“Child-centred” industries: Children as consumers:
-consumer market targeted at children.
-Children play
a big role in families spending decisions, using pester power to encourage parents to buy them sweets, toys, computer games and mobile phones.
Age Patriarchy term
to refer to adult domination and child dependency in the
family.
-Children are still financially dependent on parents as they cannot enter full-time
work until at least 16 and usually do not earn an adult wage until even later.
-Children still do not receive full adult rights until they are 18; cannot vote
-many parents make
major decisions such as moving house or separating from one another with little
reference to their children.
The Limited Role of Fathers
2x and a study
-Many fathers are still constrained by long working hours and limited access to parental leave and flexible working,
-Time budget diaries: Sevilla (2014)
(mothers from 15 minutes
a day to an hour, and fathers from 5 minutes to 35).
Lockdown, mothers and home schooling
stats
-Dr Christopher Rauh
-mothers whether employed or unemployed were typically
spending around six hours providing childcare and home schooling every working day. By
contrast, the average father at home was only spending a little over four hours regardless of his employment status
-The home-
learning platform‘Atom Learning’says that since the lockdown began, more than ¾ of
parents who have registered their children for free online lessons and set them schoolwork
were female.
