The Impact of Policy on Childhood

Types of Policies

- Direct policies: Policies aimed at changing the lives of children, e.g Children's Act.

- Indirect policies: Policies that may not have intended to impact on children but have changed their experiences, e.g austerity policies were intended to repay national debt but have disproportionately impacted on children.

Changes to Childhood

- Children dependent on adults for longer.

- Childhood is disappearing.

- Society has become more child-centred.

- Different experiences of childhood.

Children are Dependent on Adults for Longer

- Cuts to student grants and introduction of tuition fees; more students are going to local universities and staying at home.

- Changes to employment laws; creation of zero-hour contracts and temporary contracts, increasing the volume of boomerang children.

- Extension to compulsory schooling; children require adult financial support for longer.

Childhood is Disappearing

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