Topic 2 - Childhood Flashcards
What is meant by the social construction of childhood?
Childhood is not a natural state or biological state but it is given meaning by the culture or society. The idea of what behavior is appropriate, the way children should be treated and the length of childhood is ‘socially constructed’.
Evidence that childhood is socially constructed
Cross-Cultural differences in childhood:
- -Benedict found the way children are treated in simple, non-industrial societies generally differed from their modern western counterparts in 3 ways:
- -the children take responsibility at an early age e.g expected to work in the home and in the community
- -less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority e.g Firth in his study of Tikopi, found children conducted dangerous tasks with sharp tools: did these tasks when they felt ready
- -children’s sexual behavior is often viewed differently e.g adults showed attitude of tolerance towards children’s sexual explorations
What is Aries’ view on childhood?
What is Lee’s view on childhood?
- -Aries argues in Middle Ages, ‘the idea of childhood did not exist’. Once children passed stage of physical dependency, during infancy, they were not seen as having a different nature than adults
- During Middle Ages, children seen as, ‘mini-adults’, with the same rights, duties and skills as adults. e.g according to law, children often received same severe punishment that were given to adults
- -High death rates during Middle Ages, encouraged indifference and neglect towards children, especially infants, so even parental attitudes were different
Postmodernist Lee agrees with Aries that childhood no longer exists. Lee shows:
- -20th century, adults were perceived ‘stable and complete’, + children ‘unstable and incomplete’
- -21st century, as divorce rates gone up + no such thing as jobs for life, very uncertain times for adults, so adults and children are both in a state of ‘change’
- -So, children become more important source of stability for adults, more fearful over children’s security – strengthens view children need to be protected and regulated
A03:
-Limitation, Lee is guilty of over-generalising. Despite greater diversity of family, his views imply all children are in the same position.
What is Aries’ and Postman’s view on childhood and how do they compare?
Aries believes the idea of childhood began to emerge from the 13th century onwards. Due to:
- -schools specialising to just educate children
- -the growing distinction between children’s and adult’s clothing and the creation of handbooks on child rearing, a sign of child-centredness within the family
Postman opposes Aries belief,he argues the cause of the emergence of childhood, and now disappearance, lies in the rise and fall of print culture and its replacement by television culture.
- -As printing culture created an information hierarchy which caused a division between adults, who can read, and children, who can’t read.
- -Gave power to adults to keep knowledge about, sex, violence, death and other ‘adult’ matters a secret from children. Childhood became associated with innocence + ignorance
- -Television culture blurs distinction between adulthood and childhood, as they can both access it, so adult authority diminishes as children can easily gain knowledge to things they once would be ignorant about
- -Disappearance of childhood means disappearance of adulthood
What are the reasons for the change in the position of children?
- Laws restricting child labour and excluding children from paid work. This moved children from being economic assets who could earn a wage, to economic liabilities, who are financially dependent on parents.
- Introduction of compulsory schooling. It extended the age of dependency
- Industralisation. It caused most of the changes in the position of children, e.g modern industry needs an educated workforce which requires compulsory schooling from young age.
- Industralisation also caused higher standard of living which caused lower mortality rate which has brought about modern idea of childhood
Has the position of children improved?
March of progress view and conflict view
March of progress view:
- position of children in western societies steadily improving, better then ever
- March of progress sociologists like Aries argue today’s children more valued, better cared for, protected and educated
- e.g protected by laws against child abuse and child labour, professionals and specialists catered for their educational, psychological and medical needs.
- Better healthcare + higher standards of living mean babies have much better chance at survival
- They believe it’s because the family and society as a whole has become more child centered, as parents invest more in children so they have a better life and opportunities than they had.
Conflict sociologists such Marxists and Feminists argue the position of all children has not changed as conflict exists between different social groups including social classes and genders
- e.g Hillman found boys more likely to go out after dark unaccompanied and allowed to cycle on roads. Whereas Bonke found girls do 5 times more housework than boys, especially in lone parent households.
- They criticise the march of progress view for being based on false and idealised image that ignores the inequality among children regarding the opportunities and risks children face
Has the position of children improved according to the view of the ‘new sociology of children’
‘New sociology of childhood’ - see children as active agents who play a major role in creating their own childhoods rather than being ‘adults in the making’
- -Mason and Tipper show how children actively create their own definitions of who is ‘family’ - which may not include blood relation aunts or grandfathers etc but who they regard as close.
- -this approach enables sociologists to explore the diverse number of childhoods that exist in a single society
- -allows children to express their POV, NSOC found children often lack power.
Child liberationists agree with NSOC that childhood is still oppressive due age patriarchy - adult domination over child dependency.
–E.G Due to adult domination, some children try to resist the status of being a child, according to Hockey and James, by ‘acting up’. Acting like adults by doing stuff not supposed to do - smoking, alcohol, underage sexual activity.
–E.G ‘acting down’ behaving in ways expected of younger children - ‘baby talk’, wanting to be carried around
A03:
–Some criticise child liberationist view as some adult control can be justified due to children being unable to make their own rational decisions and therefore unable of safeguarding their interests themselves
