Childhood

Childhood isnt a natural category, but socialy constructed. 'Childhood' varies: between societies, within societies and across history

Cross-cultural Differences: children in simpler societies are treated differently

• more responsibilty at home
• less value placed on obedience to adult authority
• sexual behaviour viewed differntly

Childhood in the west:

• childhood is seen as innocent time in life
• children are fundemenlty differnent from adults
• they have a 'right to hapiness'

According to Aries, in medieval Europe there was no such construct as childhood, children didnt have  a different nature to adults, work began at an early age and children werr 'mini-adults'

The modern notion of childhood started developing after the 13th century, schools began to only educate the young, growing distinction between childres and adults clothes, chruch saw children as fragile, needing the protection of god.

The changing positin of children:

• Laws restricting child labour - gone from economic liabilty to working
• The introduction of compulsory schooling in 1880 - This particularly had an effect on the poor
• Child welfare legislation - The 1889 Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act enforced the idea that children are innocent
• Declining family size and lower infant mortality rates - These have encouraged parents to become more child centred
• Laws and policies that apply to children - minimum ages for a wide range of activities such as sex and entertainment reinforce the idea that children are different from adults
• Industrialisation - Modern industry needs an educated workforce requires compulsory schooling and the higher standards of living reduce infant mortality rates

Postman argues childhood is disapearing, children becoming more like adults. This is a result of television culture replacing print culture:

• Print culture: children lacked literacy skills to read like adults, so adults could withold info about sex, money, violence and death 
• Television Culture: TV makes info availible to children and adults alike, boundary between adults and children is broken down and adult authority is weakened

However, Opie argues that childhood is not disappearing through her research of games, rhymes and songs over the years. He over emphasises a single cause, television, at the expense of other factors that have influenced the development of childhood

Childhood in postmodernity: jenks argues modern society created childhood to prepare individual to become future productive adult. To achieve this, the vulnerable and underdeveloped child needed to be nurtured and pr

March of Progress View: argue childs position has improved and is better than ever

• children are better cared for 
• most babies survive
• high living standards and small families  can afford to acter to childrens needs

Toxic Childhood: Palmer argues rapid thechnological and cultural changes are damaging child development ( junk food, computer games, long parent wokring hours) Children are deprived a genuine childhood

Conflic View: argue march of progress is over-generalised and idealised image. Ignores inequality:

• Gender differnces: girls expected to do more HW
• Ethnic differences: some thnicities moire liely to be strict on offspring
• Class inequalities: poor children more likely to die in infancy

Age Patriarchy: there is a age patriarchy of adult domination that keeps children subordinate. Children are economicaly dependant