Topic 4 - Childhood

Question 1

What does Jane Pilcher (1995) say about modern western childhood?

Question 2

How is the difference in adults and children emphasises in western society?

Answer 2

• Laws
• Dress
• Products/ services (toys, food, entertainment)
• The golden age of innocence and happiness

-However, this innocence means that children are seen as vulnerable + in need of protection from dangers of the adult world meaning they must be kept separated.
-As a result, children’s lives are lived largely in the sphere of the family + education.

Question 3

How does Stephen Wagg (1992) counter child-separateness?

Answer 3

-Other cultures do not necessarily see such a great difference between children and adults (separateness is not universal).
-While all humans go through the same stages of physical development, different cultures define this process differently.

Question 4

What are the 3 ways Ruth Benedict (1934) argues cross-cultural differences in childhood?
(non-industrial society / Western society)

Answer 4

1. ) They take responsibility at an early age
2. ) Less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority
3. ) Children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently

Question 5

How has western childhood spread to other societies?

Answer 5

International humanitarian and Welfare agencies have exported and imposed the rest of the world, western norms of what childhood should be.

Question 6

What does Philippe Ariés (1960) say about historical differences in childhood?

Answer 6

-In medieval times children were seen as little adults.
-They were expected to take on adult roles + responsibilities.
-Family portraits, often depicted children as these little adults (wearing adult clothes).
-Children frequently faced the same legal punishments as adults for criminal activity.

Question 7

How did childhood develop through history?

Answer 7

• Schools began to specialise in child education

- Differences in clothing

Question 8

What are the 7 reasons for changes in the position of children?

Answer 8

1. ) Laws restricting child labour / work
2. ) Compulsory schooling
3. ) Child protection / welfare legalisation
4. ) Children’s rights
5. ) Declining family size and infant mortality rate
6. ) Medical knowledge of children
7. ) Laws

Question 9

What does Neil Postman (1994) say about the disappearance of childhood?

Answer 9

• ‘Childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed’
• Children gaining the same rights as adults
• Similarities in clothing emerging
• Children committing adult crimes

Question 10

Where does Neil Postman put the blame for the disappearance of childhood?

Answer 10

-The rise and fall in print culture and it’s replacement by television culture.

Question 11

What is the information hierarchy?

Answer 11

• Where pre 19th century children were illiterate so adults could keep knowledge about sex, money, violence, illness and death away from children through (newspapers)
• Television as sabotaged this hierarchy as it does not require English skills to retrieve.

Question 12

What does Jenks (2005) say about childhood in postmodernity?

Answer 12

• Jenks argues childhood is not disappearing but instead changing.
• The stability of adult’s relationships from modernity to postmodernity is declining (divorce)
• Due to divorce and other issues relationships with children becomes adults’ highest importance and last refuge meaning they overprotect their children.
• SOME MAY SAY JENKS IS GUILTY OF OVER GENERALISING

Question 13

Childhood as a social construct

Answer 13

-Sociologists see childhood as a social construct.
-Argue that what people mean by childhood, + the position that children occupy in society, is not fixed but differs between different times, places + cultures.

Question 14

The modern western notion of childhood

Answer 14

-Generally accepted that childhood is a special time of life + that children are fundamentally different from adults.
-Regarded as physically + psychologically immature + not yet competent to run their own lives.
-There is a belief that children’s lack of skills, knowledge + experience means that they need a lengthy, protected period of nurturing + socialisation before they are ready for adult society + it’s responsibilities.

Question 15

Cross-cultural differences in childhood; 1.) They take responsibility at an early age

Answer 15

-Samantha Punch’s (2001) study of childhood in rural Bolivia found that, once children are about 5 years old, they are expected to take work responsibilities in the home + community.

Question 16

Cross-cultural differences in childhood; 2.) Less value is placed on children showing obedience to adult authority

Answer 16

-For example, Raymond Frith (1970) found that among the Tikopia of the western Pacific, doing as you are told by a grown-up is regarded as a concession to be granted by the child, not a right to be expected by the adult.

Question 17

Cross-cultural differences in childhood; 3.) Children’s sexual behaviour is often viewed differently

Answer 17

-For example, among the Trobriand Islanders of south-west Pacific, Bronislaw Malinowski (1957) found adults took an attitude of ‘tolerance + amused interest’ towards children’s sexual explorations + activities.

Question 18

The globalisation of western childhood

Answer 18

-Some sociologists argue western notions of childhood are being globalised.
-International humanitarian + welfare agencies have exported + imposed on the rest of the world, western norms of what childhood should be.

-For example, campaigns against ‘child labour’ in developing countries, reflect western thinking, however such activity by children may be the norm for the culture + an important preparation for adult life.

Question 19

Historical differences in childhood

Answer 19

-Aries (1973) showed that in medieval times, children were seen as ‘little adults’.
-They were expected to take on adult roles + responsibilities.
-Family portraits, often depicted children as these little adults (wearing adult clothes).
-Child labour was commonly practiced + accepted.
-Children frequently faced the same legal punishments as adults for criminal activity.

Question 20

Industrial family

Answer 20

-Children had low status in the family, during the nine-tenth century, + were expected to be ‘seen not heard.’
-Restrictions on child labour in mines + factories during the nineteenth century, isolated most children from the world of adult work + responsibilities.
-They were seen as weak + vulnerable to temptation.
-They received severe beatings in the name of discipline.

Question 21

Differences between childhood in the same society; Gender

Answer 21

-Evidence from feminist studies show that boys + girls are socialised into a set of behaviours based on cultural expectations.
-Therefore girls have a different experience of childhood in terms of bedroom decoration + the nature of their play activities.
-McRobbie (2000) suggests that girls’ experience of childhood may differ from boys because parents see them as in need of greater protection from the outside world = stricter control.
-In contrast, boy’s experience of childhood involves ‘toning down their emotionality + familial intimacy.
-Boys are rarely seen to be in protection from external threats + consequently spend a lot of their childhood outside.

Question 22

Differences between childhood in the same society; Social class

Answer 22

-Upper class children may find that they spend most of their formative years in private/boarding schools.
-Lareau (2011) found that the experience of m/c childhood was socially constructed by parents who were engaged in a ‘concerted cultivation’
-This involves parents enrolling children at a young age in a range of specific cultural, artistic + sporting activities.
-In contrast, Lareau found that w/c parents emphasised the ‘natural growth’ of their child.
-They believed that as long as they provided their children with love, food + safety, their children would grow up to be healthy + well-rounded individuals.

Question 23

Differences between childhood in the same society; Ethnicity + religion/culture

Answer 23

-There is evidence that muslim, hindu + Sikh children generally feel a stronger sense of obligation + duty to their parents than white children.
-Ghumann (2003) addressed that many muslim children spent their Saturday mornings at the mosque learning the Qur’an.
-If a white child is born into a Roman Catholic.. household, church is likely to be a feature of their childhood.
-Asian females, not allowed out by themselves due to their parents’ fear of racial abuse.

Question 24

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 1.) Laws restricting child labour / work

Answer 24

-From being economic assets who could earn a wage, children became financially dependent on their parents.

Question 25

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 2.) The introduction of compulsory schooling

Answer 25

-Extending this period of dependency.

Question 26

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 3.) Child protection + Welfare legislation

Answer 26

-Underpinning the work of agencies such as social services.

Question 27

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 4.) The growth of the idea of children’s rights

Answer 27

-Basic rights such as entitlement to education + healthcare.

Question 28

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 5.) Declining family size + lower infant mortality rates

Answer 28

-Encouraged parents to make a greater financial + emotional investment in the fewer children they now have.

Question 29

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 6.) Children’s development became the subject of medical knowledge

Answer 29

-Theories of child development stressed that children need supervision + protection.

Question 30

Reasons for changes in children’s position; 7.) Law and policies that apply specifically to children

Answer 30

-Minimum ages for a wide range of activities, has reinforced the idea children are different from adults.

Question 31

The modern cult of childhood

Answer 31

-According to Ariès, however, elements of the modern notion of childhood gradually began to emerge from the 13th century onwards:
-Schools (which previously adults had also attended) came to specialise purely in the education of the young. This reflected the influence of the church, which increasingly saw children as fragile ‘creatures of God’ in need of discipline + protection from worldly evils.
-There was a growing distinction between children’s + adults’ clothing. By the 17th century, an upper-class boy would be dressed in ‘an outfit reserved for his own age group, which set him apart from adults’.

Question 32

The disappearance of childhood; 1.) Neil Postman (1994) childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’

Answer 32

-He points the trend towards giving children the same rights as adults.
-The disappearance of children’s traditional unsupervised games, the growing similarity of adults’ + children’s clothing, + even to cases of children committing adult crimes.
-The disappearance of childhood is due to the ‘fall of print culture’ + the ‘rise of tv culture’

Question 33

The information hierarchy

Answer 33

A SHARP DIVISION BETWEEN ADULTS, WHO CAN READ, + CHILDREN WHO CANT
-Adults had the power to keep knowledge about sex, money, violence, illness, death + other ‘adult’ matters a secret.
-TV blurs the distinction between adult/childhood by destroying the information hierarchy.
-The ignorance + innocence of children is replaced by knowledge + cynicism.
-Counterpart = disappearance of adulthood.

Question 34

The disappearance of childhood; 2.) Adulthood + childhood are now blurred

Answer 34

-There is now a ‘blurring of adulthood + childhood.’ Adult’s and children’s tastes + styles become indistinguishable.
-Three ways in which children’s + adults’ leisure, dress + food are now similar:
1.) Children + adults both attending star wars/marvel
2.) Mini versions of adult clothes
3.) Kids eating adults meals

Question 35

The disappearance of childhood; 3.) Consumerism means children demand more access to the adult world sooner

Answer 35

-Scrolling through social media, children may witness sexual clothing on influencers, affecting their style. We can also easily access ‘favourable’ rappers accounts who may live a violent life, which may influence a child’s view.

Question 36

The disappearance of childhood; 4.) Children + adults lead separate lives + the role of parenthood is diminishing

Answer 36

-Adults + children lead increasingly separate lives.
-Silva (1996) suggests that perhaps the roles of parents may be diminishing in face of the growing importance of peers, teachers, + other influencers that children are exposed to through media (film,games,chat rooms,porn)
-Many children now have their own rooms + gadgets
-Limits parental control on what their child accesses.
-Palmer (2007) suggests that parents increasingly use modern technology + junk food to keep children occupied (deprivation of proper child).
-Sees the contemporary world creating a toxic new gen —> range of social/behavioural problems.
-Children are more up to date than their parents in terms of technology.

Question 37

The disappearance of childhood; 5.)Children are growing up to soon + becoming sexualised at an early age

Answer 37

-Margo suggests her concern on the over sexualisation of childhood, with the avg age of first sexual interval use fell from 20 for men + 21 for women in the 1950s to 16 for both by the mid 1990s.
-Advertisers + retailers are encouraging children to dress + act in a sexually precocious way.

Question 38

No childhood is not disappearing; 1.) Childhood continues to be a separate age stage

Answer 38

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

Question 39

No childhood is not disappearing; 2.) Childhood in postmodernity

Answer 39

-Jenks (2005) does not believe childhood is disappearing, but changing.
-Modern society was concerned with ‘futurity’ + childhood was seen as a prep for the individual to become a protective adult in the future.
-To achieve this the vulnerable, undeveloped child needed to be nurtured, protected + controlled to impose discipline + conformity on children.
-Jenks argues, childhood is once again undergoing change as society moves from modernity to post modernity, as in postmodernity adult’s relationships are more unstable, e.g. ^ divorce.
-Generates feelings of insecurity (relationships with children ^ importance as marriage ends but being a parent doesn’t)
-In postmodern society, relationships with their children thus become adults’ last refuge from the constant uncertainty + upheaval life.
-Therefore makes adults more fearful for their children’s security + preoccupied with protecting them.

Question 40

Evaluation Jenks (Childhood in postmodernity)

Answer 40

Jenks is guilty of over-generalising. Despite the greater diversity of fsmily + childhood patterns found today.

Question 41

Has the position of childhood improved; Yes - The march of progress view

Answer 41

-The MOP view argues that, over the past few centuries, the position of childhood in western societies has been steadily improving (better today).
-Aries + Shorter argue that today’s children are more valued, better cared for, protected + educated, enjoy better health + have more rights than those of previous generations.
-Children today are protected from harm + exploitation by laws against child abuse/labour.
-An array of professionals + specialists cater for children’s educational, psychological + medical needs.
-Better healthcare + higher standards of living also mean babies have a much better chance of survival now than a century ago.

Question 42

Has the position of childhood improved; Yes - The child-centred family

Answer 42

-Smaller family sizes + higher living standards mean that parents can invest financially + emotionally into their children.
-Giving them greater opportunities.
-Society as a whole is now child-centred.

Question 43

What are the causes of child centredness?

Answer 43

-Family size; families getting smaller = more individual care.
-Reduced working hours + ^ affluence
-Compulsory education; more time spent in Ed = young dependent on parents.
-Ferrying children around/activities
-Parental fear around ‘stranger danger’

Question 44

No - Childhood is not improving; The difficulty some young people feel growing up in a postmodern society

Answer 44

-Sue Palmers + ‘toxic childhood’
-Argues that rapid technological + cultural change in the past 25 years have damaged children’s physical, emotional + intellectual development.
-These changes range from junk food, computer games, + intensive marketing to children, to the long hours worked by parents + the growing emphasis on testing in education.
-Concerns have also been expressed about young people’s health + behaviour.
-UK youth have above avg rates in international league tables for obesity, self-harm, drug abuse, violence, early sexual exp + teenage pregnancies.

Question 45

No - Childhood is not improving; 2.) Inequality amongst children (Gender)

Answer 45

-McRobbie (2002) suggested that girls’ exp of childhood may differ from boys because parents see them as in need of greater protection from the outside world. This gives them less opportunities to socialise at a young age. While boys are rarely seen to be in need of protection, exposing them to external threats.

Question 46

No - Childhood is not improving; 2.) Inequality amongst children (Ethnicity)

Answer 46

-Evidence that Muslim, Hindu + Sikh children generally feel a stronger sense of obligation + duty to their parents rather than white children. Making their childhood remain similar to their parents.

Question 47

No - Childhood is not improving; 2.) Inequality amongst children (Class)

Answer 47

-Children of unskilled manual workers are over 3x more likely to suffer from hyperactivity + 4x more likely to exp conduct disorders than the children of professionals.
-Children born into poor families are more likely to die in infancy or childhood, to suffer longstanding illness, to be shorter in height + to fall behind in school.

Question 48

Inequality between children + adults; 1.) Neglect + abuse

Answer 48

-In 2013, 43,000 children were subject to child protection plans because they were deemed to be at risk of significant harm (most often from their own parents).
-Childline receives 20k + calls a year from children reporting sexual/physical abuse.

Question 49

Inequality between children and adults; 2.) Space

Answer 49

-Children’s mvmnts in industrial societies such as Britain are highly regulated, e.g shops with signs ‘no school kids’
-Fear about road safety + ‘stranger danger’ have led to more children being driven to school.
-Contrasts with the independence of many children in developing countries.

Question 50

Inequality between children + adults; 3.) Time

Answer 50

-Adults in modern society control children’s daily routines.
-Adults also control the speed at which children ‘grow up’.
-It is they who define whether a child is too old or too young for this or that activity, responsibility or behaviours.

Question 51

Inequality between children + adults; 4.) Bodies

Answer 51

-Adults exercise enormous control over children’s bodies, including how they sit, walk + run, wear, hair etc.
-Taken for granted that children’s bodies may be touched: washed, fed, dressed, cuddled etc.
-At the same time, adults restrict the ways in which children may touch their own bodies (sucking thumb).

Question 52

Inequality between children + adults; 5.) Resources

Answer 52

-Industrial societies = children have limited opportunities to earn, and so remain economically dependent.
-Labour laws + compulsory school exclude them from employment.
-Although the state pays child benefit, this goes to the parent.
-Pocket money may depend on ‘good behaviour’ + may be restrictions on what it’s spent on.