Topic 2: Childhood

Question 1

Childhood as a social construct:

What is a social construct?

Answer 1

Something that is created and defined by society e.g. gender (roles and expectations and childhood (age and innocence)

Question 2

Childhood as a social construct

is childhood a social construct

Answer 2

Sociologists see childhood as socially constructed (as something created and defined by society).

Sociologists argue that what people mean by childhood and how children are viewed in society is not fixed but differs depending on the place and culture

e.g. the western idea of childhood today with childhood in the past and in other societies.

Question 3

The modern western view of childhood:

How is childhood seen in the west (use sociologists)

Answer 3

In society today childhood is seen as a special time of life and that children are different from adults.

As childhood is seen to be a golden age of happiness and innocence children are often seen as immature and need someone to be in charge of them and because children lack skills and knowledge they need to protected until they are ready to go into society. As a result, children’s lives are focused on family and education as adults provide for them and protect them from the outside world.

Pilcher (1995) - the most important feature of the modern idea of childhood is separateness. Childhood is seen as an important life stage and children in our society have a separate status from adults e.g. laws that say what children are allowed/not to do e.g. children cannot have sex until the age of 16 and marriage isn’t allowed until 18.

Question 4

The modern western view of childhood:

How is childhood not seen as a separate age-status (use sociologist)

Answer 4

The view that childhood is a time of separate age-status is not found in all societies.

Stephen Wagg (1992) -
‘Childhood is socially constructed there is no single universal childhood that is experienced by all.

This means that, while everyone goes through the same stages of physical development, different cultures do it differently.

e.g. In western cultures children are seen as vulnerable and unable to fend for themselves (childhood is separated from adulthood)

whereas in other cultures don’t have a difference between children and adults.

Question 5

Cross cultural differences in childhood

How is childhood views in other places/cultures (use sociologist)

Answer 5

One way to show that childhood is a social construction is to compare how children are seen and treated in other times and places.

Benedict (1934) argues that children non-industrial societies are generally treated differently compared to children in the west. The divide between the behaviour expected of children and that expected of adults is much less than in the west

This helps to show that childhood is not a fixed thing found universally in the same form in all human societies, but is socially constructed and so differs from culture to culture.

e.g. They take responsibility at an early age. Punch’s (2001) found that in Bolivia when children are 5 years old, they are expected to take work in the home/community. These jobs are taken on without hesitation.

Children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently e.g. Malinowski (1957) found that among the Trobriand Islanders adults took an attitude of ‘tolerance and amused interest towards children’s sexual explorations and activities.

Question 6

The globalisation of western childhood

What is the globalisation of western childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 6

Some sociologists argue that how the west views childhood is being globalised (interconnection of the world)

International humanitarian aids have imposed the idea that western ideas of childhood are right e.g. a separate life stage in which children are dependent and have no economic role.

e.g. campaigns against child labour reflect western views about how childhood ‘should’ to be - whereas in reality how children are treated in other countries may be the norm for the culture and an important in order to prepare children for adult life.

Question 7

Historical differences in childhood

How was childhood viewed in the past (use sociologists)

Answer 7

The position of children differs over time as well as between societies.

Ares (1960) - argues that in the middle ages the idea of childhood didn’t exist. Soon after being weaned, the child began working from an early age.

Children were viewed as ‘mini-adults’ with the same rights, duties and skills as adults e.g. the law often made no distinction between children and adults and children often faced the same punishments that adults did.

Parental attitudes towards children in the Middle Ages were also very different from those today. Shorter (1975) argues that high death rates encouraged indifference and neglect towards children e.g. parents often gave the new born baby the name of a dead sibling or referred to the baby as ‘it’.

Question 8

The modern cult of childhood

What is the modern cult of childhood (use sociologists)

Answer 8

Aries - how childhood is perceived now began to emerge from the 13th century. These developments of childhood head the modern ‘cult of childhood’ ( he argues that we have moved away from a time when childhood wasn’t see as a special/important time to one which thinks childhood is special and important.

e.g. Schools began to specialise in the education of children. This reflected the influence of the church (saw children as creatures of God that needed discipline and protection from worldly evils).

e.g. By the 18th century, books on childrearing (child raising) were available. This shows how society was beginning to become child-centredness among the M/C.

Question 9

The modern cult of childhood:

Criticisms of childhood not existing in the past (use sociologist)

Answer 9

Some sociologists have criticised Ariès for arguing that childhood didn’t exist in the past.

Pollock (1983) argues that in the Middle Ages, society had a different view of childhood from today’s society. Childhood did exist it was just viewed in a different way.

However, Aries’ work is valuable as it shows that childhood is socially constructed. He shows how ideas about children and their social status varied over time.

Question 10

Reasons for changed in the position of children

What are the reasons for the change in position of children (use dates) e.g. schooling

Answer 10

1880 - the introduction of compulsory schooling meant that children were no longer viewed as an economic asset they were an economic liability especially for the children of the poor (m/c and u/c were already receiving education) and ROSLA (2016) has extended this period of dependency.

Question 11

Reasons for changed in the position of children

What are the reasons for the change in position of children (use dates) e.g. children’s rights

Answer 11

The idea of children’s rights e.g. the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) sets basic rights e.g. entitlement to healthcare and education, protection from abuse and the right to participate in decisions that affect them such as custody cases.

Question 12

Reasons for changed in the position of children

What are the reasons for the change in position of children (use dates) e.g. laws and policies

Answer 12

Laws and policies that specifically apply to children e.g. minimum ages sex to smoking, this reinforces the idea that children are different from adults therefore there should be different rules .

Question 13

Reasons for changed in the position of children

What are the reasons for the change in position of children (use dates) e.g. industrialisation

Answer 13

Industrialisation - the shift from agriculture to factory production as the basis of the economy - helps to show why childhood changed.

e.g. the modern industry needed an educated workforce and this requires compulsory schooling of the young.

Question 14

The disappearance of childhood

What examples show that childhood is disappearing (use sociologist)

Answer 14

Postman (1994) - argues that childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’.

He says that there is a trend towards:

Giving children the same rights as adults 2010 Equality Act.

The disappearance of children’s traditional unsupervised games e.g. devices are being used instead of playing outside.

the growing similarity of adults’ and children’s clothing e.g. children’s clothing is becoming increasingly sexualised.

Cases of children committing ‘adult’ crimes such as murder James Bulger case

Question 15

The disappearance of childhood

What is the information hierarchy (use sociologist)

Answer 15

Postman argues that childhood emerged as a separate status along with mass literacy from the 19th century.

information hierarchy is a sharp division between adults e.g. adults who can read and children who can’t.

Question 16

The disappearance of childhood

How has the information hierarchy lead to the disappearance in childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 16

Postman argues that childhood emerged as a separate status along with mass literacy from the 19th century.

This is because the printed word (newspapers) created an information hierarchy. This gave adults the power to keep knowledge about sex, money and violence away from children and childhood became associated with innocence and ignorance. However, now television blurs the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy as children can access things that adults can.

The boundary between adult and child is broken down meaning that the innocence of childhood is replaced by knowledge.

Question 17

The disappearance of adulthood

What is the disappearance of adulthood

Answer 17

The disappearance of adulthood is where adults’ and children’s tastes and styles become indistinguishable therefore there is no distinction between adulthood and childhood

Question 18

The disappearance of childhood

How is childhood disappearing (use sociologist)

Answer 18

Postman (1994) - argues that childhood is ‘disappearing’.

In Postman’s view, the reason for the emergence and the disappearance of childhood is in the rise and fall of print culture (newspapers) and its replacement by television culture.

During the Middle Ages, most people were illiterate, and speech was the only skill needed for participation in the adult world meaning that children were able to enter adult society from an early age.

As well as this, childhood was not associated with innocence and the adult world associated with mystery. There was no division between the world of the adult and that of the child.

Question 19

Evaluation of the disappearance of childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 19

Opie (1993) argues that childhood is not disappearing. She argues that there is strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate children’s culture over many years.

Postman’s study is valuable in showing how different types of communication technology can influence the way in which childhood is constructed.

However, he over-emphasises how television has caused this which isn’t necessarily true as there are other factors that have influenced the development of childhood.

Question 20

Childhood in post modernity

What are post-modernists view on childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 20

Jenks (2005) does not believe childhood is disappearing, but he does believe it is changing.

Jenks argues that childhood is changing as society moves from modernity to postmodernity. In modern society, adults’ relationships were more stable, but in postmodern society adult relationships become more unstable as there is more choice e.g. divorce becomes much more common.

Because relationships are no longer stable, this helps to provoke feelings of insecurity. As a result, adults become more fearful for their children’s security and even more preoccupied with protecting them from dangers. This helps to continue the view that children are vulnerable and need protection resulting with greater regulation on children’s lives.

Jenks - childhood continues to be a separate status as there are legal restriction placed on what children can/can’t do which shows how they are different to adults.

Question 21

Evaluation for post modernity view on childhood

Answer 21

Jenks is guilty of over-generalising.

Despite the greater diversity of family and childhood patterns found today e.g. lone-parent families, stepfamilies he makes large statements implying that all children are in the same position.

Question 22

Has children position improved

Answer 22

As we have seen, childhood is socially constructed and varies between times, places and cultures.

There are differences between childhood in western societies compared with developing countries and European societies in the past.

e.g. in the Middle Ages, all children would be put to labour and schooling was available only to the wealthy.

Question 23

The March of progress view

What is the March of progress view on childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 23

The march of progress view argues that over the years the position of children in western societies has been steadily improving and today children’s position in society is better than it has ever been.

Ariès and Shorter hold a march of progress view. They argue that children today are better protected and educated and have more rights than those in the past.

e.g. children today are protected from harm and exploitation by laws against child abuse and child labour

e.g. Better healthcare and higher standards of living also mean that babies have a better chance of survival now than a century ago. 1900 - imr was 154 per 1,000 live births

Today, imr is 4 per 1,000 (imr-infant morality rate

Question 24

The child centred family

How has the family become child-centred (use sociologist)

Answer 24

Higher living standards and smaller family sizes (2014 -1.83 per woman 2024 - 1.75) means that parents can afford to provide for children’s needs properly. By the time a child reaches their 21 birthday, they will have cost their parents over £227,000.

March of progress sociologists argue that the family has become child-centred as children are no longer to be ‘seen and not heard’ instead they are now the focal point of the family, consulted on many decisions.

Parents invest a great deal in their children emotionally and financially and have high aspirations for them to have a better life and greater opportunities than they themselves have had.

Question 25

The toxic childhood

What is a toxic childhood view (use sociologist)

Answer 25

The toxic childhood view goes against the view that childhood is getting better.

Palmer (2007; 2010) children in the UK today are experiencing a ‘toxic childhood’. She argues that rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development e.g. junk food, computer games, and intensive marketing to children, the on testing in education.

Concerns have also been raised about young people’s health and behaviour e.g. The UK youth have above average rates in international league tables for obesity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, early sexual experience and teenage pregnancies.

A UNICEF survey in 2013 ranked the UK 16” out of 29 for children’s well being.

Question 26

The conflict view

What is the conflict view on childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 26

Conflict sociologists e.g. Marxists and feminists disagree that childhood is getting better. They argue that society is based on a conflict between different social groups such as social classes or genders. In this conflict, some groups have more power, status or wealth than others e.g. the M/C and men

Conflict sociologists see the relationship between groups as one of domination and subordination, in which the dominant group act as oppressors.

Question 27

The conflict view:

Criticisms of the march of progress view of childhood (use sociologist)

Answer 27

Conflict sociologists argue that the march of progress view of modern childhood is based on an idealised image that ignores important inequalities.

They criticise the march of progress view:

There are inequalities among children in terms of the opportunities and risks they face: many today remain unprotected and badly cared for e.g. W/C get less opportunity compared to the M/C

The inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever e.g. children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency, not greater care and protection.

Question 28

Inequalities between children and adults

What inequalities are there between children and adults (use sociologist)

Answer 28

Not all children share the same status or experiences e.g. children of different nationalities are likely to experience different childhoods and different life chances e.g. ethnic minorities are more likely to face substandard housing and low income e.g Palmer (2012)- found almost half of Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers earned under £7 per hour, compared with only a quarter of white British workers

There are also gender differences between children e.g. Bonke
(1999) found that girls do more domestic labour - especially in lone-parent families, where they do 5x more housework than boys.

This shows how not all children are equal and social class, gender and ethnic differences affect their life chances.

Question 29

Inequalities between children:

What are the class inequalities between children

Answer 29

Poor mothers are more likely to have low birth-weight babies, which in turn is linked to delayed physical and intellectual development.

Children born into poor families are also more likely to die in infancy or childhood, to suffer longstanding illness to be shorter in height, to fall behind at school and to be placed on the child protection register.

This shows how not all children are equal and social class, gender and ethnic differences affect their life chances.

Question 30

Inequalities between children and adults

What inequalities are there between children and adults (use sociologist)

Answer 30

March of progress writers argue that adults use this power for the benefit and protection of children e.g. by passing laws against child labour.

Firestone (1979) argue that many of the things that march of progress writers see as care and protection are in fact just new forms of oppression and control.

Firestone argues that ‘protection’ from paid work is not a benefit to children but a form of inequality. It is a way of forcibly segregating children, making them more dependent, powerless and subject to adult control than previously.

Question 31

Inequalities between children and adults

How does neglect and abuse show the inequality between children and adults (use dates)

Answer 31

Adult control over children can take the form of physical neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

2013 - 43,000 children were subject to child protection plans because they were deemed to be at risk of significant harm from their own parents.

ChildLine receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying that they have been sexually or physically abused.

These figures show the
‘dark side’ to family life of which children are the victims.

Question 32

Inequalities between children and adults

How does adults control over children’s spaces show inequalities between children and adults

Answer 32

Children’s movements in industrial societies are highly regulated e.g. shops may display signs such as ‘no schoolchildren’.

Fears about road safety and ‘stranger danger’ have led to more children being driven to school than travelling independently e.g. in 1971, 86% of primary school children travelled home from school alone. By 2010, this had fallen to 25%.

This control contrasts with the independence of many children in developing countries today e.g. Katz (2004) - rural Sudanese children roam freely both within the village and for several kilometres outside it.

Question 33

Inequalities between children and adults

How does adults control over children’s time show inequalities between children and adults (use sociologist)

Answer 33

Adults control children’s daily routines e.g. when they get up, eat, go to school play and sleep.

Adults also control the speed at which children ‘grow up’. Adults define whether a child is too old or too young for this.

This contrasts with Holmes’ finding that among Samoans, being too young’ is never a reason for not letting a child do a particular task.

Question 34

Inequalities between children and adults

How does adults control over children’s bodies show inequalities between children and adults (use sociologist)

Answer 34

Adults exercise control over children’s bodies e.g. what they wear, their hairstyles and whether or not they can have their ears pierced.

Children are washed, fed and dressed, hands held, are picked up, cuddled and kissed or smacked

At the same time, adults restrict the ways in which children may touch their own bodies e.g. a child may be told not to pick their nose, suck their thumb.

This contrasts with the sexual freedoms enjoyed by children in some non-industrial cultures such as the Trobriand Islands who are allowed to explore themselves sexually and it is found amusing.

Question 35

Inequalities between children and adults

How does adults control over children’s access to resources show inequalities between children and adults (use sociologist)

Answer 35

In industrial societies, children have limited opportunities meaning that they remain dependent economically on adults

e.g. Labour laws and compulsory schooling exclude them from all but the most marginal, low-paid, part-time employment.

e.g. Pocket money given by parents may depend on ‘good behaviour’ and there may be restrictions on what it can be spent on.

All this contrasts with the economic role of children in developing societies today e.g. Katz found that Sudanese children were already engaged in productive work from the age of 3/4.

Question 36

Inequalities between children and adults

How does age patriarchy show inequalities between children and adults (use sociologist)

Answer 36

Gittins (1998) - argues that there is also an age patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency. Age patriarchy is used as a way for men to dominate children.

Age patriarchy is used to assert violence against both children and women e.g. Humphreys and Thiara (2002), 1/4 of the 200 women in their study left their abusing partner because they feared for their children’s lives. this helps to show that patriarchy oppresses children as well as women.

Evidence that children see childhood as oppressive can be seen in the way they resist the status of child and the restrictions that go with it. Hockey and James (1993) describe ‘acting up’ - acting like adults by doing things that children are not supposed to do e.g. smoking, drinking alcohol and under-age sexual activity. Hockey and James conclude that modern childhood is a status from which most children want to escape.

Question 37

Criticisms of child liberationists

Answer 37

Critics of the child liberationist view argue that some adult control over children’s lives is allowed as children can’t make rational decisions and so are unable to protect themselves

Critics also argue that even though children remain under adult supervision, they are not as powerless as the child liberationists claim e.g.1989 Children Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child establish the principle that children have egal rights to be protected and consulted.

Question 38

The new sociology of childhood

What is the new sociology of childhood

Answer 38

By showing how childhood is socially con-structured it helps to
understand how childhood changes over time and there is a risk seeing children as passive objects who have no part in making their own childhoods.

Mayall (2004) - By seeing children as passive objects it risks seeing them from ‘adultist’ viewpoint. It may see children as ‘socialisation projects’ for adults to mould, shape and develop, of no interest in themselves, but only for what they will become in the future.

the ‘new sociology of childhood’ - doesn’t see children as simply ‘adults in the making’. Instead, it sees children as active people who play a major part in creating their own childhoods.

Question 39

The child’s point of view

What is the child’s point of view

Answer 39

Smart (2011) says, the new approach aims to include the views and experiences of children themselves while they as on to through childhood e.g. Mason and Tipper (2008) - show how children actively create their own definition of what family is which may include people who aren’t related but regard as family

Smart et al (2001) - study of divorce found that children were actively involved in trying to make the situation better for everyone.

This enables sociologists to explore the diverse, multiple childhoods that exist even within society.