Childhood

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Childhood as a socail construct

Sociologists see childhood not as natural but as a social construct 

Socially constructed = Defined and created by society 

What is seen as childhood varies...

  • Between societies / crossculture
  • within societies (between classes)
  • Historicly / over time 
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Cross cultural diffrences in childhood

Benedict argues children in simplier , non industrial societies are treated diffrently from those in modern western counterparts 

  • They have more responsibilites at home and work
  • Less value is placed on obedience to adult authroity 
  • Childrens sexual behaviour is often viewed diffrently 

The behaviour of expected of children and that expected of adults are less clearly seperated 

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Childhood in the west

unlike simpler societies , the modern westen notion of childhood has the following feautures

  • childhood is seen as special , innocent time of life
  • children are seen as fundementaly diffrent from adults , physicaly immature and not competent to run their own life 
  • As a result they need a lengthy protcted period of nurturing and socalisation
  • Childhood is a distinct life stage- Pilcher - key feauture of the modern idea of childhood is seperateness
  • Cunningham - children are seen as the oposite of adults with the right to happiness

These diffrences illustrate key sociological idea that childhood is not fixed in the same from in all societies

Diffrent cultures constructed it diffrently 

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Historical diffrences in childhood

The position of children also differ over time

The modern western idea of childhood is a relatively recent invention

According to Aris , in medieval Europe the idea of childhood doesn’t exist

  • Children were not seen as having a diffrent nature from adults
  • Work began from an early age
  • Children were mini- adults with the same right and dutites as adults

Shorter - parental atitudes towards children were very diffrent eg high death rates encouraged indiffrence and neglect, especialy towards infants

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The modern notion of childhood

Began to emerge from the 13th century 

  • Schools began to specialise in only educating the young 
  • The church increasingly saw children as fragile creatures of god needing discipline and protection from worldly evils 
  • There was a growming disctinction between children and adults clothing, setting children apart from adults

Aries argues that this resulted in the emergence of modern cult of childhood 

The 20th century was the century of the child 

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Why has the position of children changed

Due to major social changes during the 19th and 20th centuries 

  • Lower infant mortality rate - More infants surving meant that parents had fewer children and made a greater finanical and emotional investment in them
  • Specialist knowledge about childrens health - Eg theories of child development stressed that children need supervision and protection
  • Laws banning child labour - 1840 children changed from economic assets to liabilities 
  • Compulsory schooling - Since 1880 has created a period of dependancy on the family and seperated children from the adult world
  • Child protection and welfare laws - emphasiesed childrens vulnerability and made their welfare the centeral concern
  • The idea of childrens rights - eg the childrens act sees parents as having responsibilities towards their children rather than rights
  • Laws about social behaviour - minimum ages for a wider range of activities eg sex and smoking

Industrialisation was the under lying cause , eg modern industry needs an educated workforce , so compulsory education is needed. higher standards of living resulting from industrialisation lead to lower infant mortality rate

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The future of childhood

Postman argues that childhood as we know it is disapearing and that children becoming more like adults 

Gaining similar rights , and acting in simmilar ways eg lesuie and clothing 

For postman this is the result of television culture replacing print culture

In print culture ; children lacked the literacy skills needed to acess information , so adults could keep knowledge about sex, money , violence , illness , death and other adult matters a secret

Television culture; makes information avalible to adults and children alike. The boundary between adulthood and childhood is broken down and adult authority weakend.

However Opie believes childhood is not disapearing

EG seperate childrens culture continues in the form of games , songs and jokes etc 

Others argue western norms of what childhood should be , a seperate life stage based in the nuclear family 

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Childhood in postmodernity

Jenks argues that mdern society created childhood to prepare the individual to become a productive future adult

To achieve this the vulnerable , undeveloped child needed to be nurtured and protected

In postmodeinity- Adults relationships become more unstable (more divoce) 

Relationships with their children become adults last refuge from insecurity

They become even more fearful for their childrens saftey , leading to even greater regulation of childrens lives 

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Has the position of children improved

There are 2 competing views of whether childrens position has improved....

  • The march of progress view
  • Toxic childhood 
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The march of progress view

Aries , Shorter and others argue that childrens positions has been steadily improving and today is better than ever

Family and society have become child centred 

  • Children are better cared for in terms of their educaional , psychologcial and medical needs
  • Most babies now survive , infant mortality rate in 1900 was 154, now its 4
  • Higher standards of living and smaller family sizes mean parents can afford to provide for childrens needs
  • Children are protected from harm and exploiation by laws against child abuse and child labour 
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Toxic childhood

Palmer argues that rapid technology and cultural changes and damaging childrens devlopment

eg junk food , computer games 

As a result children are deprived of a genuine childhood

  • UK youth are at or near the top of international league tables for obesity , self harm , drug and alchol abuse, violence and teenage pregnancys
  • UNICEF ranked uk 21st out of 25 for childrens well being 
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The conflict view

Conflict theoriest eg Marxists and feminists argue that the march of progress view is an over genralised and idealised image

Ignored inequality among children and between children and adults 

Inequalities among children - Third world children have diffrent life chances from those in the west. In the western societies there are ...

  • Gender diffrences - girls are expected to do more housework
  • Ethnic diffrences - Asians parents are more likely than parents of other ethnic groups to be stricter towards daughters than sons 
  • Class inequalities - poor children are more likely to die in infancy or do badly at school
  • Inequalities between children and adults- Being banned from paied work, subjecting them to even greater adult control 
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Age patriarchy

Gittins argues that there is an age patriarchy of adult domination that keeps children subordinate 

EG adults have control over childrens time, were they go and what they eat 

Adults make children economilcaly dependent by preventing them from working 

Adult control can lead to abuse 

Resistance - Children may resist the resticted status of childhood by acting older

eg smokin , drinking

Hockey and James , this shows modern childhood is a staus most children want to escape 

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The new sociology of childhood

Seeing childhood as socially constructed by processes such as industrialisation although useful , means we risk seeing children as passive objects  (Socalisation processes for adults to shape and develop)

Active agents - instead, the new sociology of childhood sees children as playing an important part in creating their own childhoods

Eg smarts study of divorce found that far from being passive victims, children were actively involved in trying to make the situaion better 

Multiple childhood - This approach seels to explore many diverse childhoods that exist in society by taking the childs viewpoint 

It is an approach favoured by child liberationists because it draws attention to the fact that children often lack power in relation to adults 

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