Childhood

• Sociologists say childhood is constructed
• Childhood differs in different parts of the world
• Wyness estimated around 300,000 child soldiers were active in conflicts
• Benedict found little difference between adults and children in Samoa
• Aries studied how childhood has changed by looking at historical records like paintings
• Aries found that childhood was not very prevalent until industrialisation when an educated workforce was needed and laws surrounding children came into place
• For a long time, infant mortality was high, so parents may have been less attached to children for emotional reasons
• Over 4 million children are estimated to live in poverty - childhood is not always a safe haven of innocence as some will face hunger and other deprivation
• McRobbie found parents control girls more than boys with greater fears over assault or abduction
• Children are socialised differently based on gender so girls and boys will have a different experience of childhood
• Bhatti found Asian families had stricter control over children, especially girls
• Cline et al points out many children face racism in school which impacts their experiences
• Myall says childhood is increasingly being viewed through a Western lens due to globalisation
• Compulsory education until 18 has extended children's dependence on parents
• Children have far easier access to adult content via the internet
• Children are now a target audience for marketing and media
• Children are no longer an economic product but one of love
• Relationships with children are more permanent than with partners
• Children are now consumers and have pester power
• Society may be becoming more child-centred
• Child-centredness means the family is structured around the needs of children rather than adults
• Fertility rates are lower and families are having less children, so may dedicate more time to the few children they do have
• More legislation has been introduced to protect children which impacts people's perception of children and suggests more attention should be paid to them
• We now have better understanding of how children develop and how to care for them both physically and mentally
• Children are now digital natives and there are constant moral panics about them in the media
• Margo et al say capitalism controls every aspect of a child's life, with them being a very lucrative market for companies
• Womack says UK children are some of the unhappiest in the developed world
• UK children often top tables for substance abuse and mental health issues
• 17% of children are bullied, often due to deprivation
• Gittens says children are subject to an age patriarchy
• Children's lives are controlled via space, time, bodies and access to resources
• Children are increasingly being sexualised, especially through fashion
• The average age of having sex for the first time has decreased over time
• Palmer says that childhood exists but it is now becoming toxic
• Pilcher says childhood is more distinctly separate from adult life than ever before
• The UN Rights of the Child set out clear fundamental rights children should have
• Hillman highlights that boys have more freedom than girls in childhood
• Woodroffe found poor mothers are more likely to give birth to babies who are underweight, and infant mortality was higher amongst poorer families
• Resources - children have limited access to money so must stay dependent on adults
• Space - children are given dedicated areas they should and shouldn't be, areas for youth are decreasing, playing outside is becoming more dangerous, mosquito alarms to deter loitering outside shops etc