Phillipe Aries ; through studying paintings and diaries from the middle ages he found that childhood didn't exist then, children were seen as 'miniature adults', they mixed with adults and didn't lead seperate lives.
Edward Shorter; affection for children is relatively new, parents couldn't afford to love their offspring as they would die young.
1/7 children in the world are in child labour; 215million children aged 5-17.
Child soldiers in over 21 countries in the world.
3.7 children live in poverty in the UK.
In Rural Bolivia children as young as five years old take on working in the home and the community.
Over 40000 children are on the child protection plan since 2013 in the UK.
Banke & Hillman; boys have freedom to cross roads, cycle & go out in the dark.
Girls are expected to do domestic labour, in lone parent families they do 5x more than boys.
Brannen; 15-16 y/o's with Asian parents are treated more strictly, especially daughters. Bhatfi; family honour restricts girls behaviour.
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Diminishing childhood
The disappearance of childhood - Neil Postman; Children are given the same rights as adults, there is a growing similarity between children and adults interests, e.g, games and clothing, children have easy access to adult information due to the rise in television and fall of print culture.
Critcisms - Opie; there is a seperate childrens culture in unsupervised games & rhymes.
Toxic childhood - Sue Palmer; busy, stressed lives of parents deprive children of quality family time, they are left with an 'electronic babysitter', junk food and fizzy drinks, damaging intellectual development.
Lack of parental authority - Cunningham; parents are giving children more spending money, they become more independent and choose how they spend it.
Silva; The role of parents is diminishing in the face of the growing importance of peers, teachers and social media.
Criticisms - Children are controlled in the spaces the can go in (stranger danger), forbidden to play in certain areas etc... Adults control childrens bodies through what they wear, hairstyles, whether they can pierce ears, they are washed, fed & dressed etc...
Age pariarchy - Gittins; children are dependent & adults are dominant, can be asserted in the form of violence against both women & children, Humphreys; 1/4 of the 200 women in their study left their partners bc they feared for their children's lives.
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Improving childhood
Forster Act - Compulsory education for children aged 5-10 (1880).
Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act (1889).
Childrens Act - Rights in terms of custody cases (1989).
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - Basic right to healthcare, education, protection from abuse & the right to participate in decisions that affect them (1989).
Laws restricting child labour & preventing children from becoming economic assets to parents.
Industralisation lead to the need for an educated workforce & also better welfare provisions/standards of living lower infant mortality rates.
Decline in family sizes means parents focus on their individual kids more.
Donzelot; thories of child development in the 19th century stressed that children need supervision & protection.
Child-centered - March of progress; in Western societies the positions of children is gradually improving, children are more valued, better cared for, protected, educated & they enjoy better healhcare & rights.
Criticisms - Marxists & Feminists; children face greater control, oppression & dependency, alongside inequality in opportunity & being uncared for.
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