Childhood

Question 1

What is childhood?

Answer 1

Childhood is the time of birth until he or she is an adult.
The concept childhood changes based upon different social locations: cultural backgrounds, time, social class, gender and ethnicity

Question 2

Cultural differences in childhood:

Answer 2

Internal Labour Organisation: 168 million child workers globally in 2013
Wyness 2012: 300,000 child soldiers active in central and Eastern Africa
UNICEF 2014: 1/10 girls experience sexual violence, 95,000 children are murdered each year
Benedict 1955: differences in expectations of of children’s behaviour globally, with little differentiation between adults and children.

Question 3

Historical differences in childhood

Answer 3

Aries 1973: examined the development of modern childhood by examining the role of children throughout history.
He found that there was little differentiation between children and adults until industrial era rise of compulsory schooling and control over labour laws
Also has been a decrease in infant mortality as society evolved- children not seen to live to adulthood before this
Shift to a more child centered society, in late 20th century as number of children in family decreased as they became economic burdens

Question 4

Social class differences in childhood

Answer 4

According to child poverty action group 2019, it is estimated that there is 4.2 million children in the uk living in poverty.
1.2 children are eligible for FSM in the uk
Campaigns examining holiday hunger and period poverty highlighted impacts of deprivation on children in the uk
Deprivation impacts in the health, education, moral and spiritual development of children living in poverty, declining life expectancy for children born in most deprived areas in the uk

Question 5

Gender differences in childhood

Answer 5

McRobbie (2000) control over girls is stricter than boys, with more parents worried about assault or abduction of girls
Gender socialisation and gendered childhoods lead to differences in educational achievement for boys and girls

Question 6

Westernised view of childhood

Answer 6

Myall (2004) bias towards understanding childhood through lens of Westernised society, most expert advice based upon Western notions of children’s capability
Evolution or family from being extended with large numbers of children to a more compact family with fewer children has led to a standardised version of childhood based upon media stereotypes.

Question 7

Is childhood disappearing?

Answer 7

Pilcher and other sociologists have a

Question 8

Rogue