The sociology of childhood

• Historical contruction of childhood - Aries

  • Middle ages childhood didn't excit
  • Children were not seen as having differnt nature to adults at least past the stage of physical dependancy of infancy
  • Seen as 'mini-adults' same rights,duties and laws made no distiction between adults and children
  • After being weaned children entered society like adults
  • Looked at works of art from middle ages show no charateristic of childhood in children - both dressed the same
• Historical construction of childhood - Shorter

  • Parents attitudes different in middle ages
  • High death rate encourage indifference and neglect towards infants
  • e.g not uncommon for a new baby to get recently dead siblings name or to refer to the baby as it or forget how many children they have or had
• Cultral construction of childhood - Stephan Wogs

  • Obdience to authority differ
  • Sexual behaviours differ
  • Laws differ
  • Working-age differs
  • Expectation of risk differs - 13yrs drive tractors vs 13yrs wearing cycling helmets
• Cultral construction of childhood

  Take responsibility at early age - Punch

  • Study of childhood in rural boliva found that children expected to fend for themselves at the age of
  • Tasks were taken on without hesitation
• Cultral construction of childhood

  Childrens sexual behaviour viewed different

  • Trobriand islanders tolerent to childrens sexual curiosity
  • No age restriction to sexual actvities
• Cultral construction of childhood - Bendict


  Argues that childrenin simple societies sre treated differnetly in three ways:

  • Less value is placed on children showing obdience to authority
  • Childrens sexual behaviours are view differently
  • Children take responsiblity at a young age
• Reasons for changing position of children

  Introdution of laws restricting child labour

  • Children were economic assets who could earn a wage and help suppourt the family
  • Now children are a finacila liability and finacillay dependant on their parents
• Reasons for changing position of children

  Laws that specificlly apply to children

  • Minimum ages for actvities like sex,smoking,drinking
  • Reinforces that children are different to adults
• Reasons for changing position of children

  Declining family size/ lower infant mortality

  • High infant mortality meant that families had extra children to replace the ones that died
  • Lower infant mortality encouraged parent to make greater emotional and economic investment in their fewer children
• Reasons for changing position of children

  Child protection Laws

  • 1889 preventation of cruelty to children act
  • 1989 children act - made the welfare of the child a fundamental principal of agiencies like social services
• Reasons for changing position of children

  Introduction of compulory education

  • In 1880 introduced for all as m/c children already had school
  • Raised age of dependancy
• Reasons for changing position of children

  Growing ideas of childrens rights

  • The children act 1989 - made parents have 'responsibilities' rather than rights in relation to children