Childhood

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What does childhood as a social construct mean?
Childhood is created and defined by society and is not a universal experiance. For example, western childhood is different
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Who believes childhood is a social construct?
Wagg(1992)
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Who belives modern childhood is a seperate time and give examples?
Pilcher (1995),
can't drive, different dress
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What does benedict argue
children in non-industrial societies are treated differently than those in western cultures
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Who argues childre in non-industrial societies take responsibility at an early age?
Holmes (1974)
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What did Firth find in a Tikopia tribe?
less value on obedience and adult authority, make own decisions
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Who found in a Trobriand tribe children's sexual behavior is viewed differently?
Malinowski (1975)
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Explain globalisation of western childhood
ideas of childhood being innocent time with no labour is being globalised eg. through welfare agencies
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Name one of the first countries to legalize child labour
Bolvia
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March of progress view
childhood has been steadily improving since 19c. and is the best it has ever been
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Who argues today's children are more valued, better cared for, educated and have more rights ?
Aries and Shorter
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Provide examples of families becoming more child-centred
Family sizes shrunk, parents put more in emotionally and financially into their kids, takes 240K to raise a child 0-18
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Provide an example of imporvments to childhood
Laws restricting child labour preventing children being an economic asset to parents
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Provide another example
Children's development become and the subject of medical knowledge eg. Bowlby
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What did Aries find about childhood in the middle ages?
childhood did not exist and children were 'mini adults' with same rights, duties, and skills
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Provide examples for children being 'mini adults'
Often faced same punishment and not uncommon to give the newborn same name as dead sibling and worked alongside adults
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When did Aries think the modern notion of childhood start?
started with industrialization
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What does Aries mean the modern era is 'cult of the child' ?
Obsessed with their children, care, and vulnerability which has been reinforced with the church and the grow of the housewife role
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Provide a criticism for the MOP historical view?
Pollock (1983) argues childhood did exist in the past but was just a different notion of childhood
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How does Palmer (2010) evaluate the MOP view?
UK children are experiencing a 'toxic childhood' because they are becoming obese, exploited by advertisers, education focuses on tests not play
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What are the 2 main bits of the conflict view?
1. Huge inequalities between children and many children are unprotected and badly cared for
2. Ineqaulities between children and adluts are bigger then ever, children expericing control not greater care
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Gender differences - who argues parents are stricter with boys because they are more liely to be allowed to cross roads, use buses and go out alone in the dark ?
Hillman (1993)
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Give an argument for class inequalities
Womack (2007) childhood is only toxic for poor kids as those in poverty is usually desperate and sad (poor housing, health conditions, die in infancy)
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Ethnic differences-give arguement for
Brannen (1994) found Asian parents were moreliekly to to be strict with their daughters
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Provide 2 criticisms of inequalities between children
- Rich may have unhappy childhoods eg. Boarding schools
- Girls are usually doing better in school than boys, and boys are more likely to be unfairly disciplined by teachers
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What do Firestone and Holt argue ?
the power imbalance between children and adults is a form, of oppression and forces children to be dependent on their parents
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Adults can control children through neglect and abuse provide an example
childline receives 20,000 calls saying they have been sexually or physically abused
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Give an example for Control over childrens space
Can play in some areas and forbidden in others
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Give a cross-cultural opposing example for control over children's time
In west parents control the speed their child grows up but Samoans children are never to young for the task
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Contrasting with Trobriand tribes, how in the west do adults control childrens bodies?
Hairsytle, dress , restrict ways they touch themselves
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What ways to adults control over children's access to resources ?
Control economic independence through labour laws, pocket money contrasting with Bolivia
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Who found children see childhood as an oppressive pahrase they wish to escape
Hockey and James (1993)
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What did Gittens find?
Long history of men holding power over other family members. Today this may be abuse
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Provide 3 criticism of the Conflict View
- Some argue control over children's lives is justified because they can't amke rational decsions
- Children are not powerless (1989 childrens act)
- Other countries worse childhood, 250,000 children forced as soliders
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The future of childhood
childhood is disappearing
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Who argues childhood is disappearing and why?
Postman (1994), children have the same rights as adults, committing crimes like murder (Jamie Bulger), unsupervised games and, similarity of clothing
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What does postman belive the main drive for this is ?
The fall of print culture and the rise of TV culture
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What's print culture?
sharp distinction between childrena nd adults because they cant undertsand words so sex, miney and violence are sparate, adult matters
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What TV culture?
Blurred distinction as to access TV no specialist skills - innocence lost
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How argues that childhood is not disappearing but a separate phrase
Opie (1993)
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Give another criticism
Postman over emphasizes the disappearance of childhood caused by TV
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Childhood in postmodernity
Changing
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Who believes childhood isn't dissapearing but changing ?
Jenks (2005)
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What is childhood changing?
Adult relationships are more unstable so their relationship with their child is the most important leading to child obsessed parents
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Provide a criticism for childhood in postmodernity
evidence of this is limited due to small scale studies
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Whats the new sociology of childhood?
Sees children as active agents who play a major part in creating their own childhoods
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What does Smart (2011) claim ?
Sociologists should consider the views and experiences of childhood while they are living it
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Provide an example for Smarts claim?
sociologists consider the negatib
ve aspects of a divorce but, Smart found children were actively involved in the decision as it would be better for everyone
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Card 2

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Who believes childhood is a social construct?

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Wagg(1992)

Card 3

Front

Who belives modern childhood is a seperate time and give examples?

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Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

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What does benedict argue

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Who argues childre in non-industrial societies take responsibility at an early age?

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Preview of the front of card 5
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