Childhood

• Childhood


  A social construct
• Childhood (modern Western notion)


  • Separateness from adults
  • Children occupy a separate status from adults
• Cross-cultural differences in childhood

  • Children in rural Bolivia expected to take work responsibilities without question from age 5
  • Among the Tikopia, doing as told by an adult is not a right to be expected by the adult (obedience)
  • Samoan adults tolerant and amused by children's sexual explorations
  • In Samoan village, 'too young' never given as reason for not permitting a child to undertake a task
• Historical differences in childhood


  • In Middle Ages, idea of childhood did not exist
  • From 13th century, childhood began to emerge and schools specialised in educating the young
  • Distinction between adult and child clothing emerged (modern)
• Reasons for changes in position of children

  • Laws restricting child labour (children became economic liability, dependent on parents)
  • Introduction of compulsory schooling (similar effect as above)
  • Child protection and welfare legislation
  • Declining family size, lower infant mortality rate (encouraged greater financial and emotional investment in a child)
• Childhood is disappearing


  Influenced by the media
• Information hierarchy


  • Sharp division between adults who can read and children who cannot
  • Gave adults power to keep knowledge about sex, money, violence, illness, death and other adult matters a secret from children
  • TV blurs the distinction between adults and children by destroying the information hierarchy (innocence of childhood replaced by knowledge)
• Killers of James Bulger


  • Bad upbringing
  • Exposed to seeing pornography and violence
  • Had knowledge of adult matters, so adult and child boundary broken
• Childhood is not disappearing, research shows strong evidence of continued existence of separate child culture
• Childhood


  Not disappearing but changing as society moves from modernity to postmodernity
• Giving children DVDs


  • Good sign of parenting (could also be seen as capitalism by Marxists)
• Views on whether the position of childhood has improved


  • New Right blames single mothers, sees things as too liberal, fears cohabitation
  • March of Progress view (Aries and Shorter) - children now more valued, better cared for, protected and educated, enjoy better healthcare and have more rights, family is now more child-centred
  • Criticism of March of Progress (Firestone) - many things seen as care and protection are new forms of oppression and control
• Toxic childhood


  • Rapid technological and cultural changes have damaged children's physical, emotional and intellectual development
• Age patriarchy


  • Adult domination that keeps children subordinate (controlling what they can and can't do)
• Boys more likely to be allowed to go out after dark
• New Sociology of Childhood


  Views childhood as constructed by social processes, but sees children as active agents who play a part in creating their own childhoods (not just passive objects)