Topic 2- Childhood Flashcards
what do children need as they have a lack of skills, knowledge and experience?
long period of nurture and socialisation before responsibility
why do children need a long period of nurture and socialisation
what do they lack
- skills
- knowledge
- experience
what does Pilcher say is the most important feature of the modern idea of childhood?
seperateness
who said seperateness is the most important modern idea of childhood?
Pilcher
how is chld seperateness emphasised?
- laws regulating what children are allowed or forbidden to do
- differences in dress
- through products and services aimed at children
what is childhood referred to?
_____ age
golden age
what is the golden age?
- children under 5
- has happiness and innocence
what is the consequences of being innocent as a child?
- they are seen as vulnerable and need to be protected
- they need to be kept quarantined from the adult world
what does Wagg argue about the view of childhood?
- childhood is socially constructed
- what people at particular times, places and societies says it is
- there is no universal childhood
what does Wagg’s argument of there not being a universal childhood mean?
all humans go through the same physical development and different cultures construct or define this process differently
what does benedict argue about childhood?
children in simpler non industrial societies are treated differently from modern western societies because:
* they take responsibility at an earlier age
* less value is placed on obedience to adults
* children’s sexual behaviour is viewed differently
there is a lesser divide between adult and chid behaviour.
what is happening to the western view of society?
- becoming globalised
- campaigns against child labour in developing countries reflects the western view
- however this may be a norm for a culture that prepares a child for adulthood.
what does Aries argue about the middle aged view of childhood?
- their idea of childhood didn’t exist so children and adults had the same needs
- middle aged laws made no distinction between punishments between adults and children
- the only difference depicted in paintings is the size
according to Aries what century did the modern notion of childhood emerge and how did they?
- 13th century
- schools specialised in education of the young
- distinction between child’s clothes
- handbooks on childrearing were available (shows child centredness in families)
what were the 8 changes of the position of children in the 19th and 20th century
- Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work.
- The introduction of compulsory schooling
- Child protection and welfare legislation
- The growth of the idea of children’s rights
- Declining family size and lower infant morality
- Children’s development became the subject of medical knowledge
- Laws and policies that apply specifically to children
- Industrialisation
what does postman say on childhood?
- it is quickly disappearing
- children have the same rights as adults
- children are committing ‘adult’ crimes
- share similar clothing
- says this is because of the rise of tv culture
explain the information hierarchy and the link to the disappearance childhood
- is a sharp division between adults who can read and children who can’t
- gave adults power to keep knowledge about ‘adult’ matters so childhood was associated with innocence and ignorance
- television blurs the distinction between children and adults because it destroys the information hierarchy
- tv doesn’t require special skills to access it and it makes information available to adults and children
- the boundary is broken between them.
what is an evaluation of the disappearance of childhood? who said this?
- opie said childhood isn’t disappearing as they researched children’s games (unsupervised), rhymes and songs they found there is evidence of the continuation of a separate culture for children.
- Postman over emphasises TV and does not consider additional factors that affect child development
evaluation for Jenk’s argument
- Their if evidence that parents prioritise their parent-child relationship over their partners, however this information is from small studies
- Jenks over generalises. He implies all children are in the same position which isn’t correct.
what is the march of progress view of childhood?
- Position of children in western societies has been improving.
- Aries and shorter say todays children are valued more, cared for educated and educated better and have more rights than previous generations
- E.g. children are protected from harm with labour laws and professionals specialise to cater for children and their needs.
give 2 arguments on march of progress view on childhood
- Child centred family
- Toxic childhood
explain toxic childhood as a march of progress view on childhood
- Palmer says children are experiencing toxic childhood
- technological and cultural changes have damaged children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development
what is the conflict view of childhood?
- Marxists and feminists dispute the idea that the position has children has improved dramatically.
- They argue society is based on a conflict with different groups and they have more status and wealth than others
- They argue the march of progress is based on a false image that ignores inequalities e.g. between children and adults
give the 8 arguments the conflict view has
- Inequalities among children
- Inequalities between children and adults
- Neglect and abuse
- Controls over children’s space
- Controls over children’s time
- Controls over children’s bodies
- Control over children’s access to resources
- Age Patriarchy
explain what age patriarchy is and who argues it
- gittins says age patriarchy is the inequalities between males to females and children
- many women leave their husbands as a fear for their child’s safety
what are the 2 reactions a child has to age patriarchy?
- acting up- acting like adults by swearing, smoking and drinking
- acting down- behaving way younger than you are, popular strategy for resisting adult control by baby talk or insisting to be carried
what does smart say about the child’s point of view?
- Smart says the new approach aim to include children’s experiences and opinions whilst they live through childhood
- Smart et al’s study of divorce found that from being active victims, children were involved in divorce trying to make the situations better
what does smart and tipper say about the child’s point of view?
- Mason and Tipper show children create their own meaning for family which may include fictive kin
what research method do sociologists use to research children and why?
- Studies about children use research methods like informal and unstructured interviews which allows children to express their opinions and the researcher to gain a better understanding of their life.
- This enables sociologists to explore the diverse, multiple childhoods that exist even within a single society. E.g. Smart notes there are ‘disabled childhoods, Chinese childhoods, girls’ childhoods, poor childhoods, adopted children childhoods etc.
give 4 examples of a toxic childhood
- The decline of outdoor play – linked to increased childhood obesity.
- The ‘schoolification’ of early childhood – which reduces independence.
- Screen saturation – reduces face to face interaction.
- Tests, targets and education – increases anxiety among children
