childhood Flashcards
(20 cards)
1
Q
Wagg (childhood as a social construct)
A
- suggests childhood is a social construction and there is no universal definition to cover it, what people mean by childhood and the position that children occupied society is not fixed but differs between different times, places and cultures
2
Q
Pilcher (childhood as a social construct)
A
- argues that modern society childhood is seen as a distinct period in one’s life with children occupying a separate status from adults
- eg laws (legally a child until age 18), education (have to stay in education until 18), access to media (age restrictions), fashion (dressed by adults), role in the family (no responsibilities, looked after by parent), social space (youth zones for children, bars and clubs for 18+)
3
Q
Punch (cross cultural differences of childhood)
A
- the view of childhood as a ‘ separate age status ‘ is not universal as it is not found in all societies
- Punch found that in Bolivia, five-year-old children are expected to take work responsibilities in the home and community, these tasks are also expected to be taken on without question or hesitation
4
Q
Firth (cross cultural differences of childhood)
A
- in Tikopia, doing as you are told by an adult is a choice that is left up to the child rather than a given right expected by an adult
5
Q
limitations of cross cultural differences of childhood
A
- unrepresentative samples
6
Q
globalisation of western childhood
A
- some sociologists argue that western notions of childhood are being globalised
- International humanitarian agencies are spreading the idea of Western norms of childhood to other parts of the world (eg a separate life stage, based on the nuclear family and school, in which children are innocent, dependent and vulnerable, and have no economic role)
- led to campaigns against child labour, or concerns about street children in developing countries reflect western views of how childhood ought to be (eg must go to school, mustn’t work or be involved in labour, protected by laws and parents)
7
Q
limitations of globalisation of western childhood
A
- this view called challenge societies norms and values, causing conflict and division
8
Q
historical differences of childhood (Aries)
A
- conducted research based on the analysis of historical documents and diaries
- argues that during the middle ages childhood did not exist
- once infants had passed through the stage of physical dependency, they were seen as being like adults and expected to contribute within the household or workplace, and we’re often regarded as miniature adult adults
- the law often made no distinction between adult adults and children, with children often facing the same punishments as adults if they committed a crime
9
Q
limitations of Aries’ argument
A
- relies on secondhand accounts of data, information may be misinterpreted = lacking validity
10
Q
historical differences of childhood (Postman)
A
- agreed with Aries the children were treated as miniature adults and the concept of childhood did not exist
- during these times most people were illiterate meaning that information was shared in the community through town speakers are gossip
- there was no censorship meaning that children were exposed to the same information as adults
- additionally there was little or no emotional attachment between parents and their children due to the high infant mortality rate
- the invention of the printing press allowed for the mass production of box which led to increase in literacy and availability of reading material where people could learn more about their roles as adults and how children should be brought up
- created an information hierarchy why children had restricted access to information only appropriate for adults
11
Q
evidence for the position of children improving / march of progress
A
- march of progress view: argues that the position of children has been steadily improving and it is better than it has ever been (children are more value, better card for, protected and educated
- laws restricting children from paid work: factor act (children under 13 to work no more than 6.5 hours per day), factory and workshops act (employment of children under 10 was banned)
- compulsory schooling: education made compulsory for children aged 5-10, delayed children from having to join the workforce
- decline in family size: the decline and infant mortality rate means that people are now having less children which leads to child centredness when family spend more time and money on their children
- Increased medical knowledge: moral survive in their first year of life due to knowledge and awareness of disease diseases, conditions and nutrition
12
Q
criticisms of the march of progress view (Palmer)
A
- labels children’s experience in the modern society as toxic childhood
- the increase in learning difficulties, drug abuse, self harming and attempted suicide in young people are due to decline in emotional and family stability
- many parents are too busy working to give children their full attention and they rely on electronic babysitters such as television and computers to occupy them instead
- physical reasons: fast food restaurants are growing in popularity which is leading to an increase in child obesity
- Intellectual reasons: video games rather than studying or doing homework
- emotional reasons: social media leads to bullying, poor body image and poor mental health
- social reasons: access to social media, video games, YouTube, Netflix and streaming services
13
Q
criticisms of the march of progress view (inequalities amongst children)
A
evidence found that:
- boys are more likely to have more freedom and encounter risky experiences than girls (eg parents more protective over daughters so aren’t allowed out as certain places with certain people, girls also more vulnerable than young boys eg rape, SA)
- girls are more likely to do more domestic labour than boys, especially if they grow up in a single parent household
- children who come from families where parents are unskilled manual workers are more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and conduct disorders than children of professionals
- children bone into poor families are more likely to die during infancy, suffer long-standing illnesses, far behind at school and be placed on the child protection register
14
Q
Firestone and Holt criticisms of the march of progress view (inequalities amongst children and adults)
A
- challenge the march of progress view, argued that childhood in modern society is characterised by oppression, control and dominance of children by adults
- they argue that adult control over children can take the extreme form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse
- evidence: a child contacts childline in the UK once every 45 seconds, 59,000 cases responded to regarding concerns over a child’s welfare
- these figures point at a dark side to the family, the biggest victims of which our children
- argue that they need to free children from adult control - ‘ child liberationism ‘
15
Q
Gittins criticism of the march of progress view (age patriarchy)
A
- argues that there is an age, patriarchy of adult domination that keeps children subordinate, adults exercise control over children’s time, space and bodies
- children may resist their restricted status by acting older, potentially making them even more vulnerable
examples: - neglect and abuse: in 2020, 66,000 child protection plans were used because they were deemed at risk of significant harm from parents
- children’s time: adults control children’s daily routines by imposing curfews and planning activities that children may not want to do
- children’s bodies: adults have control of children’s bodies and it is taken for granted that they can be touched (eg wiping dirt off of their face)
16
Q
limitations of Gittens’ argument
A
- overly negative view of the family, parenting and parents’ roles
17
Q
childhood is disappearing (Postman)
A
- children are gaining the same rights as adults
- children are engaging in less traditional unsupervised games (eg tag, hopscotch)
- children’s clothes are becoming increasingly more similar to adults
- children committing adult crimes such as murder
- Postman argues got television and other media technologies blurs the distinction between childhood and adulthood by destroying the information hierarchy (eg television does not require special skills to enable access to information like the printed word, which makes the information communicated to adults and children alike)
- this leads to the boundaries between adults and children being blurred, leads to diminished authority and the ignorance and innocence of children replaced by knowledge
- children acting up: drinking, smoking, makeup, social media
- adults acting down: disney adult, watching films targeted at children (eg harry potter), videogames
18
Q
limitations of Postman’s argument
A
- research children’s unsupervised games, rhymes and songs and argued that there is strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate children’s culture
19
Q
childhood isn’t disappearing (Jenks)
A
- acknowledges that childhood is changing as we move into postmodern society
- due to the threats we are more aware of (due to increased media and technology) adults become more fearful for their children’s security and even more preoccupied with protecting them from perceived dangers such as child abuse
- legal restrictions placed on what children can and cannot do continues to define them as different from adults
- childhood therefore continues to be a separate status from adulthood
20
Q
limitations of Jenks’ argument
A
- overgeneralised: his views of childhood assume that all children are in the same position, yet this is not the case as many suffer abuse and neglect from their own parents
