4. Families and Household - Childhood

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  • Created by: atp_
  • Created on: 14-04-17 21:40

CHILDHOOD

Childhood is 'socially constructed'

  • Sociologists say childhood is not only biological stage of development but a social construct too.
  • The idea of how children are different from adults through their views, behaviour and attitudes is not the same everywhere nor has it been the same each year (it's not universal).

Examples of how society has changed its view on children:

  • For example in this day and age the leave on education has risen from age 12 to 18 in the last century. Now it would be socially unacceptable and illegal to leave school and start full time work at the age of 12.
  • For example, the minimum age to get married rose to 16 in 1929 - before, girls could get married at 12 and boys at 14 (with parental permission. Therefore the age at which childhood ends and adulthood begins has moved inline with social attitudes.

Jane Pilcher states children has different rights and duties from adults and are regulated and protected by special laws. Childhood is seen as a clear and distinct life stage, and children in our society occupy a seperate status from adults.

However Wagg found while humans go through the same stages of physical development, different cultures define this process differently. In Western Cultures today children are defined as vulnerable, however other cultures have different views...

Benedict argues children in simpler, non-industrial societies are generally treated differently from their modern western counterparts in 3 ways:

  • they take reponsibility at an early age

e.g. Punch's study of childhood in rural Bolivia found that, once children are 5 they are expected to take to work at home and in the community.

e.g. similarly Holmes study of samoan village found 'too young' was never given as a reason for not permitting a task to a child.

  • Less value is placed on children showing obedience of adult to authority.

e.g. Firth found that among the Tikiopia of the western Pacific, doing as you are told by growing up is regarded as a concession to be granted by the child, not expected by the adult.

  • Children's sexual behaviour is viewed in differently

e.g. Malinowski found that adults took an attitude of 'tolerance and amused interest' towards children's sexual explorations and activities in South-west Pacific.

Historical Differences:

Sociologist Aries' looked at historical paintings. He said the concept of childhood only existed in the last 300 years. Before this, in medivial society, a child took on the role of an adult as soon as physically able - looking like mini-adults. 

With industrialisation, scoial attitudes changed and people began to value children as needin specialised care/nurturing. The importance of childhood reinforced the importance of role of the housewife (there job to look after the children).

This 'cult of the child', as Aries describes, first developed in the middle classes and overtime has become part of working-class values.

Pollack criticises Aries' work saying his work looks weak because paintings are his main evidence.

Modern cult of childhood - emerged from the 13th century

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