Kenneth reached a different conclusion,his argument was that there had been a ‘youthquake’ in the 20th century-childhood had gone from being unimportant as aries had described-to being over huge importance
What did Leech believe affected young people and children differently ?
‘youthquake’
What did teenagers now have ?
Teenagers had greater freedom than before,because the country was getting richer and there was more of a culture industry.They were able to define themselves through their fashion and cultural choices,like the music they listened to or the films they enjoyed.
What did young children have ?
Younger children,however,were increasingly important to families.Rather than being passed to nannies and schools to raise,families were increasingly ‘child focused’:leisure activities were being selected based on what children wanted to do,family spending revolved around children,and children’s views were valuable.
What was his overall conclusion ?
Leech considered any approach that believed childhoodwasbecoming worse was ‘short sighted’-it was considering recent changes to childhood,but without considering the long term differences,he argued that family could not be becoming ‘worse’ because it essentially didn’t exist earlier.
