Childhood

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  • Created by: Gcostin
  • Created on: 21-02-18 14:20
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  • Childhood
    • Childhood as a social construct
      • childhood is a social construct
        • cross cultural differences
        • societies- different classes
        • historically
      • Cross-cultural differences
        • Benedict
        • non-industralised societies treat children differently to western societies
        • more responsibility at home and work
        • less value placed on obedience to adult authority
        • childrens sexual behaviour is often viewed differently
      • Childhood in the west
        • a special, innocent time of life
        • children are fundamentally different to adults
        • protected period of nurturing and socialisation
        • a distinct stage of life
          • Pilcher-key feature of modern idea of children is separetedness
        • Cunningham- children are opposite of adults, with the right to happiness
    • Historical differences in childhood
      • in medieval Europe the idea of childhood did not exist
        • work began from an early age
        • Children were mini adults
        • children were not seen as having a different nature from adults
        • Aries
          • emergence of cult of childhood
      • Shorter
        • parental attitudes were different- high child death rates encourages neglegt
      • modern notion of children emerged in 13th century
        • school specialised in education of the young
        • church saw children as fragile "creatures of god"
        • distinction between adults and childrens clothing
      • Why has the position of children changed?
        • lower infant mortality rates and smaller famillies
        • specialist knowledge about children's health- stressed children need supervision
        • Laws banning child labour- 1840's onward
        • Compulsory schooling- 1880
        • Child protection and welfare act
        • idea of child rights- children act(1989)
        • laws about social behaviour- children can't smoke
        • industrialisation needed an educated workforce
    • The future of childhood
      • Postman
        • children are becoming like adults
        • television replacing print culture
          • print culture: children lacked literacy skills to access knowledge about sex, money, illness
          • Television culture: makes information available to adults and children. Boundaries have weakend
        • over emphasises single factors- rising living standards
      • Opie
        • childhood is not dissapearing
        • a separate children's culture exists, games, songs, jokes
        • childhood based on separate life stage, based on nuclear family
          • childhood is not disappearing its spreading
      • childhood in post modernity
        • Jenks
          • childhood was created to prepare individuals to be productive adults
          • critises Postmans: childhood is changing not disappearing
        • adults relationships are more unstable- relationships with children are a refuge from insecurity
    • Has the position of children improved?
      • the march of progress view
        • child-centred families
        • children are better cared for in terms of education, physciological, medical needs
        • infant mortality rate lower
        • higher living standards and smaller famillies means parents can afford to care for children
        • children are protected from child abuse and child labour
      • toxic childhood
        • Palmer- rapid techonlogical development and cultural changes are damaging childrens developments
          • junk food, computers
        • UK youth are at top of leauge tables for obesity, self harm
        • UNICEF ranked uk 21st out of 25 for children's wellbeing
        • not all children are effected by these trends
      • conflict view
        • marxist and feminsits aruge march of progress view is over generalised and an idealised image
          • ignores inequality among children
        • inequalities between children
          • gender differences- girls do more housework
          • Ethnic differences- asian parents are stricter
          • class inequalities- poor children more likely to die in infancy/do worse at school
      • Age patriarchy
        • Gittins
          • adults domination that keeps children subordinate
            • adults excerise control over childrens time
            • forced to be economically dependant
        • may resist this restriction by rebelling- smoking, using drugs
        • Hockley and James
          • modern children want to escape
      • new sociology of childhood
        • seeing children as socially constucted risks seeing children as passive objeccts
        • Active agents: children play a parrt in creating their own childhoods
          • Smart: study of divorce found children were not passive
        • multipule childhoods
          • diverse childhoods

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