childhood Flashcards
(9 cards)
childhood as a social construct
childhood isnt fixed but differs between time, place and culture
modern western view: children are physically and pschologically immature, which is emphasised through laws, products and services
Pilcher –> childhood is distinct and separate from adulthood
Golden age: childhood is happiness and innocence and live through pleasure and play, protected from the outside world by parents
not universal: Wagg –> no simgle universal childhood experience as it is natural and should be distinguished from biological immaturity
cross cultural differences
benedict –> children in simpler non-industrial societies are treated in 3 ways:
1- responsibility is taken at a very early age
2- less value is placed on the child showing adults obedience
3- children’s sexual behaviour is viewed differently
historical differences
aries: in the middle ages, childhood didnt exist and children after infancy were seen as the same as adults and entered society on the same terms and so worked from an early age, same rights and skills, punished foir the same crimes
shorter: high death rates encouraged indifference and neglet of infants (calling the child ‘it’, use the same of a dead sibling or forget the number of children they had)
dissappearance of childhood
postman:
trends of similar rights for children and adults, similarity in clothing, cases of children commiting adult crimes
caused by television culture- can be access by all ages and all levels of intellectual, so blurs distiction of child and adult
printed word created an information heirachry which wasnt present in the middle ages as speech was the only skill needed –> this allowed adult knowledge to be separate to protect childhood inncoence
evaluation:
Opie –> studies children’s unsupervised games, rhymes and songs which showed strong evidence of separate and consistent children culture
march of progress view
the modern day postion of the child is the best it has ever been
Aries and Shorter: today children are more valued, protected, educated, have more healthcare and rights than previous generations
evaluation:
marxists and feminists argue that different groups have more power and so there are inequalities between children and adults aswell and among children themselves
child-centeredness
a result of higher living standards and smaller family sizes (lower fertility rates)
the child is now the fpcal point of the family and is included in many decisons
parents invest emotionally and financially
society is also more childcentred- media output and lesiure is specifically designed for children
toxic childhood
palmer:
rapid technilogical and physical changes have damaged childrens physical, emotional and intellectual development, eg, junk food, video games, long parental working hours, excessive testiong in education
UK has above average rates of obesity, self-harms, drug and alcohol abuse
age patriarchy
Gittins –> age patriarchy can describe the inequalities between adults and children (adult domination and child dependancy)
when children resist the childhood status and restriction, childhood can be viewed as oppressive
Hockey and James –> children can “resist” by acting up (acting like adults and doing things they shouldnt) or acting down (behaving like a much younger child)
new sociology of childhood
through reserach, there is a risk of seeing children merely as passive objects who play no role in shaping their childhood so children should be seen as active agents
Mayall –> risk of having an adultist viewpoint, children are only see as socialistion projects for adults to mould. fous should be on the present experience of a child from their perspective
