Childhood

Childhood.

Western notion of childhood:

• Separate and happy period.
• Children innocent and without responsibilities.
• Vulnerable and need protecting, e.g. laws; paid work and abuse.

Childhood as a social construction:

• Socially constructued, created and defined by society.
• Not fixed and universal but relative to time, place and culture.

1. Cross cultural differences -

• IK Tribe, Northern Uganda, 3 year olds cast out to fend for themselves as seen as burden.
• Bolivia, take responsibility at an early age, work in the home and community from 5 years old.
• Tikopia, Western Pacific, less value is placed on obedience.
• Differences within cultures as well as cross-culturally, e.g. children from WC have poorer life chance than MC.

2. Historical differences -

10th-13th Century:

• Aries (1960) claims 10th-13th century childhood did not exist.
• Same laws and punishments.
• Dress the same.
• Not specific toys and games.
• Critised for exaggerating childhood did not exist, claimed just a different notion of childhood.

19th-20th Century:

• Industrialisation, period time that status/position childhood improved, e.g education instead of paid work.

Legal reasons:

• Child labour laws so children can't work, children economically dependant on parents.
• Minimum age laws, e.g. sex and smoking laws.
• Child protection laws, e.g. 1989 Children Act made child welfare key to social services.
• Compulsary schooling from 1880 and raising of school leaving age, extended period of economic dependancy.

Other reasons:

• Welfare benefits, e.g. child and housing benefits.
• Lower infant mortality rates and smaller families so parents more child centred and make financial and emotional investments in fewer children.
• Industrialisation, mordern industry needed educated workforce and higher living standards lower infant mortality rates.

20th-21st Century:

• Position/status of childhood is disappearing and getting worse again.
• Childhood is shortening, 'toxic childhood'.
• Mass media, children have access to adult information.

3. Inequalities between children -

• Further evidence why childhood can be seen as a social construction.

Inequalities between children within societies:

• Varies depending on class, gender and ethnicity, e.g. WC perform less well at school.

Inequalities between children and adults:

• Shaped by adults, e.g. adults restrict space and times children play.

Has the position/status of children improved?

4. Evaluation -

• Social construction views criticised for being deterministic that childhood is shaped by adults, governments and industrialisations. However, 'new sociology of childhood' says children are active agents in creating own childhoods. E.g. Smart et al (2011) found children of divorced families were passive victims but actively tried to make situation better for everyone.
  

March of progress view believes postition/status of children has improved:

• Child…