childhood

Question 1

what is the modern western notion of childhood

Answer 1

childhood is special period of life
children fundamentally diff from adults
children = psychologically + physically immature
children have a lack of knowledge + experiences, in need of lengthy time of socialisation

Question 2

what does Pilcher not about the features of the modern idea of childhood

Answer 2

distinct feature is separateness
childhood = clear + distinct

Question 3

how is children being distinct emphasise in society

Answer 3

through legislation e.g laws regulation what children are allowed, required + forbidden to do

difference emphasise in dress

difference in toys, food, books

difference in media too

Question 4

what is Waggs idea of childhoods definition

Answer 4

childhood is socially constructed it is what members of particular societies say it is. there is no universal childhood as childhood is not natural + should be distinguished only by biological immaturity

Question 5

how are children in traditional societies regarded as different from modern western cultures in three ways according to this sociologist

Answer 5

children:
take responsibility at an early age - have duties

less value is placed on children showing obedience - children same as adults

children’s sexual behaviour is viewed differently - with tolerance + interest

Question 6

what sociologists study shows that children have responsibilities at an early age

Answer 6

Punch study of rural Bolivia found children had responsibilities in home + community

Holmes - Study if Samoan village found too young is never an excuse even if handling dangerous / heavy tools

Question 7

what sociologists study shows that adults do not expect respect from children

Answer 7

Firth - among Tikopia of Western pacific doing as told is a condensation to be granted by child, not a right to be expected by adult

Question 8

children are innocent, dependent, vulnerable and should not have an economic role

Answer 8

western notion of childhood

Question 9

how are western notions of childhood being globalised to those developing rural countries

Answer 9

• campaigns against child labour reflect what westerners ought childhood to be whereas such behaviour may be norm for that culture for preparation of adult life

arguably campaigns have little impact on position of children in developing countries

Question 10

Aries historian findings of historical differences in childhood

Answer 10

Middle Ages from 10-13 centuries- childhood did not exist - children not diff in nature once they passed physical dependancy of infancy

children enter wider society straight by working, having duties + same skills as adults
+ suffered same punishments

seen in paintings

Question 11

according to this sociologist how do high death rates encourage indifference and neglect

Answer 11

high death rates encourages neglect + indifference towards infants
not uncommon for baby to be named after dead sibling /babies to be referred as it / forgetting children count

Question 12

according to Aries elements of the modern biting of childhood began to emerge from 13th century onwards, how

Answer 12

school - education + socialisation of the young

growing distinction in children’s + adults clothing.

by 18th i entry handbooks in childrearing were wildest accessible - sign of child centredness

Question 13

who criticises Aries and why

Answer 13

Pollock argued it is not right to say childhood did not exist as Middle Ages society had a different notion of what childhood is from today

Question 14

what are the reasons for the changes in the position of children

Answer 14

• law constructing labour + exclusion form paid labour
  children are now a economic liability
• introduction of compulsory schooling
  1880 education extended dependency
• child protection + welfare
  1989 Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act
• growth of idea of children’s rights
• decline in family size + lower infant mortality
  children have rights rather than responsibilities e.g United Nation Convention established rights
• children’s development knowledge
  Donzelot - increased supervision + protection
• law + policies that specify to children
  no sex + smoking children doff to adults must not display same behaviour

Question 15

what Act stops child cruelty

Answer 15

1989 - Prevention to Cruelty to Children Act

United Nations Convetion 1989

Children Act

Question 16

how has the process of industrialised increased the modern notion of childhood

Answer 16

shift from agriculture to factory production

industry needs an educated workforce this requires compulsory schooling

higher standards of living + Welfare lead to lower infant mortality rates - changes the notion of childhood

Question 17

who argues taht childhood is disappearing - how?

Answer 17

Postman - childhood disappearing at a dazzling speed
there’s a trend of giving children same rights as adults - unsupervised games, children’s clothing + children committing crimes like murder

Question 18

what is the information hierarchy - how does it keep innocence and childhood

Answer 18

adults could keep information from children such as sex, money, violence, illness… as a secret so childhood is ignorance

Question 19

how has the information hierarchy decreased over the years

Answer 19

from 19th century literacy has increased ,children can find the information from books + media

TV blurs lines of childhood- daotryinf infirmatin hierarchy
boundary between children + adult is broken down ignorance is replaced with knowledge + cynicism

Question 20

who disagrees with Postman that childhood is not disappearing

Answer 20

Opie childhood not disappearing based on research into games, rhymes + songs conducted with her husband
there is still a separate children’s culture

postman’s over emphasised a single cause - TV also influenced childhood by songs and allat

Question 21

who is a postmodernist who argues about the idea of childhood

Answer 21

jenks

Question 22

which Postmodernist agrees with Aries that childhood is a creation of society

Answer 22

childhood seen as prep for individual to become a productive adult in future to achieve this, child must be nurtured + protected by family + education

Question 23

however why does Jenks disagree with Postman that childhood is disappearing

Answer 23

relationships are becoming more unstable as divorces on the rise
this creates feeling of insecurity

relationships with children become more valued, like a sense of identity. parents become fearful for their children so increase protection from the dangers of the world

so surveillance is increasing, childhood is not disappearing- disagree with postman

Question 24

what is evaluation do Jenks

Answer 24

evidence for both + against Jenks is limited. some evidence that parents see relationship with their child as more important than that of their partners

Question 25

what is Jenks guilty of

Answer 25

over generalising
despite greater diversity in family structure today, he makes greatly sweeping statements that imply that all children in lone parent,, stepfamilies etc

Question 26

what is this sociologists march of progress view of the position of children improving

Answer 26

history of childhood is a nightmare from such we have only started to awaken from, the further back in history l, the lower the childcare and the more likely children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten + sexually abused

Question 27

from looking at historical data and present data which sociologists argue a march of progress view

Answer 27

Shorter + Aries
todays children more valued, better cared for
e.g children protected from harm + exploitation law + education needs + psychological + medical needs

Question 28

statistical data of infant mortality rate

Answer 28

1900 infant mortality rate was 154 per 1,000, now it is 4 per 1,000

Question 29

statistical data of sizes of families decreasing over the years

Answer 29

5.7 births in 1760’s to 1.83 in 2014

Question 30

how do smaller children sizes mean that children’s needs are met for properly

Answer 30

there is less economic strain so children’s economic needs are met properly

by 21st birthday 227,000 will be spent
more emotional support from both parents

Question 31

who argues that childhood is now toxic and why

Answer 31

Palmer - rapid technological + cultural changes have caused a toxic childhood in past 25 years
junk food, computer games, intensive marketing to children, long hours worked by parents

Question 32

youth have high rates of obesity, shelf harm drug and alcohol abuse violence early sexual experience + teenage pregnant

Answer 32

ok

Question 33

what two grounds do conflict sociologists critique the march of progress view

Answer 33

-inequalities amongst children in terms of opportunities they face e.g many remain unprotected + badly cared for

• inequalities amongst children + adults greater than ever children e keith e dependency not greater care

Question 34

where are 90% of low weight babies born

Answer 34

in developing countries

Question 35

what is an inequality in children in gender of how they are treated- all sociologists

Answer 35

Bill man / boys more likely to be able to cross+ cycle go out dark unaccompanied

Bonke - girls do more domestic labour esp in line parent fams they do 5 times more

Bran nen - study 15- 16 year old girls found Asians oarents more stricter to girls

Bugatti - family honour could be a restriction to behaviour of girls

Question 36

what are all the class inequalities between children

Answer 36

poor mothers more likely to have low weight birth babies - linked to delayed physical + intellectual development

kids of unskilled manual workers 3 times more likely to suffer from hyperactivity 4 times more likely than kids of professionals to have disorder

children born into poor fams more likely to die in infancy + suffer from illness

Question 37

what do Firestone and Hult argue about the care and protection from parents to hidden

Answer 37

that is a form of oppression + control
protection from paid work is not a benefit of children but a inequality as they have to be dependent + powerless

Question 38

all statistics do neglect and abuse

Answer 38

2013 - 43,000 children subject to child protection services because they were deemed to be a harm

Childline receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying they are being sexually + physically abused - dark side of the family

Question 39

how are children controlled by where they can travel to

Answer 39

shops show signs of no schoolchildren + children forbidden to play in certain area

starter danger fears led to more children being driven to school rather than walking

Question 40

statistics of children allowed to travel home alone

Answer 40

in 1971 - 86% of primary school children allowed to walk alone

by 2010 - fallen to 25% Cunningham home habituated of children has shrunk to one ninth compared to 25 years ago

Question 41

how do adults control children with their use of time

Answer 41

children made to fit their time of day into routines where children can play ,eat , get up

adults control of activity is appropriate for child in responsibility

Question 42

how do control over children’s bodies cause oppression of children by adults

Answer 42

how children sit ,walk, run ,what they wear, sunglasses, washed, cuddled, kissed, disciplined by smaking

Question 43

how do control over children’s access to recourses cause oppression

Answer 43

children dependent financially - not an economic asset

labour laws + compulsory schooling exclude them from employment

although state pays for child benefit, money does not go to child

pocket money given by parents depend on good behaviour

contrasts traditional societies where children own economic asset Katz found that Sudanese children were already in work from 4

Question 44

what sociologist talks about age patriarchy

Answer 44

Gittens - adult domination + child dependency. power is held by dads over children and wife

Humphrey’s + Thiara 1/4 of 200 women in their study left abusing party bee because they feared for their children’s life’s

Question 45

how is control of adult over children’s life justified

Answer 45

children cannot make rational decisions and unable to safeguard

Question 46

although children remain under adult supervision, they are not as powerless as child liberationists claim

Answer 46

1989 Children’s Act and the United Nations Conventions

Question 47

What is the new sociology of childhood

Answer 47

children are active people that can shape their own childhoods instead of passive objects that have no part in it
adults mould shape + develop

Question 48

mayall and smart in the hood point of view perspective of childhood

Answer 48

interpretivist
mayall - we need to focus on the experiences of children themselves while they are living through childhood

mason and tipper - children actively create own definitions of family

smart et al study of divorce from being passable victims children actively involved in making situation better