Childhood Flashcards
(36 cards)
What are children are generally regarded as
Physically and psychologically immature and incompetent to run their own lives.
What does Pilcher argue is the most prominent feature of childhood
Separateness- children occupy a separate status from adults.
How are children separate from adults
Laws, dress, food, toys, and entertainment are different.
What is the Golden Age view
Children need protection from the dangers of the adult world, and must be separated from this due to their innocence and vulnerability.
Wagg’s view that an age-separate status is not universal
Different cultures construct and define human development differently, other cultures don’t see the difference between children and adults.
Benedict’s findings in cross cultural differences
They take responsibility at an early age
Less value is placed on obedience and adult authority.
Children’s sexual behavior is viewed differently.
Punch findings in Bolivia
5-year-olds were expected to take on work responsibilities without hesitation
How are western notions being globalised
International humanitarian and welfare agencies have exported and imposed on the rest of the world.
Historical changes in childhood
Aries found from the 10th to 13th century childhood did not exist, elements of childhood began to emerge from the 13th century onwards.
How did childhood begin to emerge
Schools came to specialise in purely teaching the young and by the 18th century, handbooks on child rearing were wildly available
Reasons for the change in position of children caused by industrialisation
Laws restricting child labour.
Introduction of compulsory schooling.
Child Protection and welfare legislation.
Growth of ideas of children’s rights.
Declining family sizes.
Laws restricting child labour impacting positions
Went from being economic assets to financially dependent on their parents.
Introduction of compulsory schooling changing positions
This extends childhood and the period of dependency on their parents.
Child Protection and welfare legislation affecting positions
1889 Prevention of Cruelty to Children Act, 1989 Children Act made children the fundamental principle of agencies such as social services.
Growth of ideas of children’s rights affecting positions
Children have the right to healthcare, education, protection from abuse and participation in decisions affecting them.
Declining family sizes effecting positions
Encourage parents to make greater financial and emotional investment in the fewer children they have.
Postman view on the future of childhood
Childhood is ‘disappearing at a dazzling speed’
What is the information hierarchy
Sharp division in information available to adults, who can read, and children
How has the information hierarchy decreased
Television destroys it as info is accessible to children, and therefore the innocence of childhood is replaced by knowledge and cynicism,
Jenks belief of postmodernity
Childhood is not disappearing, but it is changing as society moves from modernity to postmodernity.
Example of difference between modern and postmodern society
Modern- adult’s relationships are stable
Postmodern- relationships change fast and become unstable.
Change in IMR
In 1900, the IMRM was 154 per 1,000 births, it is now 4 per 1,000 births.
March of progress view
The position of children in western societies has been steadily improving and is better than it has ever been.
Why is a child centred family good for children
Parents can afford to provide for children’s needs properly, as they are the focal point in the family, and therefore, parents invest in their children financially and emotionally.
