Has the position of children improved?

• The March of Progress View

  Over the pas few centuries, the position of children in western society has been steadily improving- and is better than it has ever been today. De Mause argues that the further back in history, the lower level of childcare, the more likely children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorised and sexually abused. Aries and Shorter argue that today's children are more valued, better cared for, have better health, and have more rights than previous generations. 1990 infant morality rate was 154 per 1,000 live births; today it is 4 per 1,000.
• The March of Progress View: Child-Centred Family

  Higher living standards and smaller family sizes (5.7 births per woman in 1860s to 1.83 in 2014) mean that parents can afford to provide for their children's needs properly. Estimated that when a child turns 21, they have cost their parents over £227,000. MOP argue that children are focal point of the family, consulted on decisions. Parents invest financially/emotionally, have high aspirations for them to achieve further. Society as a whole is more child-centred; media output and many leisure activities are designed specifically for children.
• The March of Progress View: Toxic Childhood

  Some criticise the idea that children's position is better; Palmer claims that 'toxic childhood' is emerging due to rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years- damaging children's physical, emotional and intellectual development. Changes ranging from junk food, computer games, intensive marketing towards children, parents working long hours, and emphasis of testing in education.
• The March of Progress View: Toxic Childhood

  Concerns have been expressed about young people's health and behaviour; supporting Palmer. For example, UK youth have above average rates in international leagues for obesity, self-harm, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, early sexual experience, and teenage pregnancies. A UNICEF survey in 2013 ranked the UK 16th out of 29 for children's well-being.
• The Conflict View

  Conflict sociologists such as Marxists and Feminists dispute the MOP view. Arguing society is based on conflicts between different social groups- within this, some have more power or wealth than others. Seeing the relationship between groups as one of domination (the oppressors) and subordination.
• The Conflict View- Critiques of MOP

  Argue MOP view of modern childhood is based on false and idealised images which ignores important inequalities. They instead argue that there are inequalities among children in terms of the opportunities and risks they face (many remain unprotected and badly cared for); and the inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever- children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency- not greater care and protection.
• The Conflict View- Inequalities among Children

  There are gender differences between children: Hillman found boys are more likely to be allowed to cross or cycle on roads, use buses, go out after dark unaccompanied. Bonke found that girls do more domestic labour- especially in lone-parent families, where they do 5 times more housework than boys.
• The Conflict View- Inequalities among Children

  There are ethnic differences between children: Brannen's study of 15 to 16 year olds found that Asian parents were more likely than other parents to be stricter towards their daughters. Similarly, Bhatti found that ideas about izzat (family honour) could be a restriction, particularly on the behaviour of girls.
• The Conflict View- Inequalities among Children

  There are class inequalities between children: poor mothers are likely to have low birth-weight babies, which is linked to delayed physical and intellectual development. Children of unskilled manual workers are over 3 times more likely to suffer from hyperactivity; and 4 times more likely to experience conduct disorders than children of professionals. Children born into poor families are more likely to die in infancy, suffer longstanding illnesses, be shorter in height, fall behind in school, and be placed on the child protection register.
• The Conflict View- Inequalities between Children and Adults

  Firestone and Holt argue that many of the things the MOP view see as care and protection are actually just new forms of oppression and control. E.g arguing that protection from paid work isn't a benefit, but a form of segregation as it forcibly causes children to be more dependent, powerless and subject to adult control than they were previously. Critics then advocate for children to be freed from adult control- calling this 'child liberationism'.
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Neglect and Abuse

  Adult control can take extreme form in physical neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse. In 2013, 43,000 children were subject to child protection plans because they were deemed at risk of significant harm- most often from their parents. ChildLine receives over 20,000 calls a year from children saying they have been sexually or physically abused. Such figures indicate a 'dark side' to family life where children are the victims.
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Control Over Children's Space

  Children's movement in industrial societies are highly regulated- e.g. shops display 'no schoolchildren' signs. Children are told to play in some areas, but forbidden in others. There is increasingly close surveillance over children in public spaces, especially at times when they should be in school. Fears over road safety have caused fewer to travel independently (1971- 86%, 2010- 25%). Cunningham claims the 'home habitat' (areas children can travel alone) of 8-year-olds has reduced to one ninth of its size 25 years earlier.
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Control Over Children's Space

  This control and surveillance contrasts with the independence of many children in developing countries today. For example, Kadz describes how Sudanese children in developing countries roam freely both within the village and several kilometres outside of it.
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Control Over Children's Time

  Adults in modern society control children's daily routines- times when they wake up, eat, go to school, come home, play, watch television, and sleep. Adults also control the speed at which children 'grow up'; they can define whether a child is too old or young for an activity, responsibility or behaviour. This contrasts Holmes' findings that among young Samoans 'too young' was never given as a reason for not letting a child undertake a particular task.
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Control Over Children's Bodies

  Adults exercise enormous control over children's bodies- through the way they sit, walk and run, what they wear, hairstyles, ear piercings. It is taken for granted that children's bodies may be touched (in certain ways by certain adults): they are washed, fed, dressed, heads patted, hands held, picked up, cuddled, kissed, and physically disciplined.
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Control Over Children's Bodies

  Adults restrict the ways in which children can touch their own bodies. For example, a child may be told not to pick their nose, suck their thumb, or play with their genitals. This contrasts the sexual freedoms enjoyed by children in some non-industrial cultures, such as the Trobriand Islands (Malinowski).
• The Conflict View- Adult Control; Control Over Children's Access to Resources

  In industrial societies, children have limited opportunities to earn, so remain economically dependent on adults. Labour laws and compulsory schooling exclude them from low-paid, part-time employment. Although the state pays child benefit, this goes to the parent. Pocket money given may depend on 'good behaviour', and comes with restrictions on what it can be spent on. Contrasts economic role of children in developing societies- Katz found Sudanese children engaged in work from age 3 or 4.
• The Conflict View- Age Patriarchy Defined

  Gittins: describe the inequality between adults and children, arguing that there is adult domination and child dependency. Patriarchy means 'rule by father'; and the term 'family' originally referred to the power of the male head over the household (including children and servants).
• The Conflict View- Age Patriarchy

  Today, power may still assert itself in the form of violence against both children and women. For example, Humphreys and Thiara found that a quarter of the 200 women in their study left their abusing partner as they feared for their children's lives. This supports Gittins' view that the patriarchy oppresses children as well as women.
• The Conflict View- Age Patriarchy

  Evidence that children may experience childhood as oppressive comes from the strategies they use to resist the status of child, and the restrictions that come with it. Hockey and James describe one strategy as 'acting up'- acting like adults by doing things which children aren't meant to do, they may exaggerate their age. 'Acting down'- is behaving in ways expected by younger children is another strategy for resisting adult control ('baby talk', insisting on being carried). Concluding that modern childhood is a status which most children wish to escape.
• The Conflict View- Age Patriarchy

  Critics argue that although children remain under adult supervision, they are not powerless as 'child liberationists' claim. For example, the 1989 Children Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child establish the principle that children have legal rights to be protected and consulted.
• The 'New Sociology of Childhood'

  While viewing childhood as a social construction helps to explain how it changes- there is a danger as seeing children as passive. Mayall calls this an 'adultist' viewpoint; seeing children as mere 'socialisation projects' for adults to mould, of no interest of themselves, but only for what they will become in the future. This approach then doesn't see children as simply 'adults in the making'- instead, it sees children as active agents who play a major part in creating their own childhoods.
• The 'New Sociology of Childhood'- The Child's Point of View

  Smart claims the new approach aims to include the views and experiences of children themselves while they are living through it. Mayall claims research needs to focus on the 'present tense of childhood'- studying the ordinary everyday life from a child's perspective. Mason and Tipper found children actively create their own definitions on what is 'family'- including people who aren't biological, but who they regard as 'close'.
• The 'New Sociology of Childhood'- The Child's Point of View

  Smart's study of divorce found, far from being passive victims, children were actively involved in trying to make the situation better for all. Studies like these use RMs like informal, unstructured interviews- empowering children to express their own views from a direct perspective. As Smart notes, it enables researchers to explore a diverse range of childhoods. This research then draws attention to the fact children lack power in relation to adults- it is then favoured by child liberationists who campaign for children's rights.