Topic 2: Childhood for Families and Households
- Created by: Megnicpip
- Created on: 04-06-18 14:47
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- Topic 2: Childhood
- Childhood as a Social Construct
- what people mean by childhood, and the position children occupy in society, is not fixed but differs between cultures, different times and places
- The Modern Western Notion of Childhood
- Children are regarded as physically and psychologically immature, therefore they need lengthy periods of protective nurturing and socialisation before they are ready for adult society
- Pilcher: childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage where children occupy as seperate status to adults
- Childhood is a Golden Age
- less responsibility
- no monetary worries
- years of fun and learning
- Wagg: childhood is socially constructed, there is no single universal childhood therefore childhood isnt natural and should be distinguished from just biological immaturity
- Cross Cultural Differences in Childhood
- Benedict:children in non-industrial societies are generally treated differently in three ways:they take responsibility at an early stage, less value is placed on children showing obedience, children's sexual behaviour is viewed differently
- Holmes: 'too young' was never given as a reason for why a child could not do a particular task
- Firlh: Tikopia of the western pacific, doing as you are told by a grown up is considered acceptable only by the child; it is not a right to be expected of an adult
- Malinowski: adults took an attitude of tolerance and acceptance towards children's sexual explorations and activities
- Benedict:children in non-industrial societies are generally treated differently in three ways:they take responsibility at an early stage, less value is placed on children showing obedience, children's sexual behaviour is viewed differently
- Dominant Framework: Prout and James
- Children are simple as as they do not have the capability of sophisticated, complex thinking
- childhood and adulthood are at opposite ends
- Wyness: your age dictated your stage of development . Piggetss work used scientific methods to establish milestone events therefore his research dominated the dominant framework
- Evaluation
- Jackson et al: experience of childhood is shaped by class, gender, disability therefore it cannot be generalised
- childhood does not follow a predictable stage of development it varies place to place and through time periods
- Mayall: it is cultural bias towards Western countries
- Historical Differences in Childhood
- Aries argues that in the Middle Ages the idea of childhood did not exist
- Began work from an early stage
- Same rights, duties and skills as adults
- Faced the same severe punishments as adults
- For evidence he uses works of art: children are shown in the same clothing as adults and show no characteristics of modern childhood
- He argues we have moved from a world where childhood was not important to one obsessed by it
- Evaluation
- Pollock: it is more correct to say that in the middle ages there was a different notion of childhood than that of today
- His work is invaulable as it shows childhood as socially constructed
- Parental attitudes were also different, Shorter: high death rates encouraged indifference and neglect especially towards infants
- Shorter uses a variety of evidence to explain and describe childhood
- motherhood and the concept of 'love'
- ideas of children being born good
- ideas on how to raise children
- Aries argues that in the Middle Ages the idea of childhood did not exist
- Reasons for the Changes in Position of Children
- growth of children rights
- laws applying specifically to chidlren
- introduction of compulsory education
- laws restricting child labour
- higher standards of living decreasing child morality rate
- Postman claims that childhood is disappearing
- he suggested that communication technology shapes society
- with the introduction of tv and other forms of communication the lines have been blurred with more access to the adult world
- Evaluation
- This is more complex-children are more protected and more controlled-several trends happening at once
- Opie: there is a clear distinction between children's culture and adults-established through her research on children's playing activities
- Sociological Views
- March of Progress
- Position of children is steadily improving and is better than it has ever been
- Child-Centered: higher living standards and smaller family sizes means parents have more money, parents invest in their children emotionally and often have higher aspirations for them
- Jenks Post Modernity Argument
- Evaluation: small, unrepresentative samples, over-generalising, limited evidence
- Childhood continues to be a separate status
- pace of change speed up and relationships become unstable therefore relationships with children become more important
- Jenks Post Modernity Argument
- Toxic Childhood: a UNICEF survey ranked the UK 16th out of 29 for child wellbeing, Palmer: rapid technology and cultural changes have damaged children psychological, emotional and intellectual development
- The Conflict View
- Children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency
- Inequalities among children
- Ethnic: Bhatti: ideas of IZZAT could be a restriction especially on girls behaviour
- Gender: Blake: girls do more domestic labour, Hillman: boys are more likely to be allowed to use buses, cycle on roads and go out after dark
- Class:poorer children are more likely to die in infancy, to be shorter in height, children of unskilled workers are three times more likely to suffer from hyperactivity
- Acces to resources: pocket money comes with restrictions, state beneft goes to the parent not the child, excluded from part time employment
- March of Progress
- Social Structure
- Feminst View
- Similarities: both subordinate to men, prone to victims of abuse, lack ful social status
- Wyness: sometimes of feminism that priorities women over children
- Marxist View
- Marx et al: children are a cheap source of labour
- Social Structure
- Feminst View
- Similarities: both subordinate to men, prone to victims of abuse, lack ful social status
- Wyness: sometimes of feminism that priorities women over children
- Marxist View
- Marx et al: children are a cheap source of labour
- Types of Childhood
- Present Tense
- should not be seen as a preparation for adulthood
- their vulnerability comes from the way society treats them
- powerlessness of children is not inevitabe
- New Sociology
- recognises the competence of children as social actors
- Mayall emphasises the importance of the childs opinion and values
- Present Tense
- Feminst View
- Types of Childhood
- Present Tense
- should not be seen as a preparation for adulthood
- their vulnerability comes from the way society treats them
- powerlessness of children is not inevitabe
- New Sociology
- recognises the competence of children as social actors
- Mayall emphasises the importance of the childs opinion and values
- Present Tense
- Feminst View
- Childhood as a Social Construct
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