14f

• define childhood


  childhood is seen as a separate age status, children are physically and psychologically immature, so need a lengthy period of socialisation and nurturing
• what are 3 ways in which children occupy a separate age status from adults


  -laws regulating what children are allowed to do e.g sex, smoking, drinking

  -dress different

  -products and services for children e.g entertainment
• what does it mean when we say childhood is a social construct (wagg)


  there is no single universal experience of childhood - its is not fixed between different times, cultures and places
• the contemporary family is regarded as child-centred. What does this mean?


  the child's needs are put before the adults
• punch


  -studied childhood in rural Bolivia

  -children are expected to take work responsibilities in the home and wider community
• briggs


  -studied children in the iniut community of the canadian artic

  -it is understood they cant comprehend the extreme difficulties facing the community

  -parents treat them with a great deal of tolerance
• Morton


  -studied children in Tonga

  -they are regularly beaten by parents and older siblings

  -they are seen as been 'mad people' rather than humans

  -social competence will only be achieved through harsh discipline and physical punishment
• explain the globalisation of western childhood


  western notions of childhood are been globalised by international humanitarian and welfare agencies. They impose the norms of western childhood onto other countries e.g child labour laws
• Phillip Aries


  children in pre-industrial times were little adults who took part in the same play and work activities as adults

  children were regarded as an economic asset
• how has industrialisation effected childhood


  working class children worked in factories and mills

  middle class attitudes towards their children began to change as the infant mortality rates fell, so they felt they could create a bond with their children without worrying they would just die. This resulted in policies which excluded children from working in factories and mills were there was a risk they might be killed
• describe childhood in the 20th century


  emergence of child centred society

  children are seen as an expense - so people have fewer and then invest more time and love into them

  adulthood and childhood are seen as distinctly seperate
• give 6 major reasons for the changing position of children


  -child labour laws

  -compulsory schooling

  -child protection and welfare legislation

  -emergence of childrens rights

  -declining family size and declining IMR

  -other laws concerning children e.g smaoking, drinking, watershed
• describe how compulsory education has effected childhood


  introduced in 1880 for lower class children

  extended the period of dependency
• give an example of childhood protection and welfare legislation which effected childhood

  1889 prevention of cruelty to children act - made the welfare of child main principle for the work of social services
• describe how childrens rights effected childhood


  in 1989 the united nations convened to establish basic children's rights e.g access to education and healthcare
• what is the functionalist perspective of childhood

  that they are a vulnerable group who will be socialised and protected in the family
• what is the new right persdpective of childhood


  children need to be in aadequate families i.e the nucelar family to later properly contribute to society e.g single mother housholds raise delinquent, criminal children
• john-hood williams


  looks at how the economic position of children has changed

  changed from productive contributors to domestic economies to objects of consumption
• cotton wool kids


  children today are over-protected

  children are loosing independence, ability to make decisions and judge risk
• helicopter parenting


  parents increasingly 'hover' over their children e.g organising play and schedule
• hillman


  boys are more likely to be given independence e.g go out on their own at night
• bonke


  girls do five times more housework than boys
• brannen


  asian parents are more likely to be strict towards daughters
• howard


  children in poorer families are more likely to die in infancy, to fuffer longstanding illnesses, have low energy which leads to them falling behing in school, be placed on the child register list
• gittens


  age patriarchy - adult domination and child dependency which could manifest in the form of domestic violence to both women and children
• give 5 ineqaulaties between adults and children


  neglect and abuse

  control over childrens space e.g no schoolchildren in shops

  control over childrens time

  control over childrens bodies e.g what they wear

  control over access to resources e.g labour laws and what they can spend pocket money on
• sue palmer


  children are experiencing toxic childhood due to rapid technological and cultural change which has damged childrens physical, emotional and intelectual development.

  e.g junk food, intensive testing in schools, long hours worked by parents
• in an unicef survey in 2020 where was the uk ranked

  27 out of 41 richer countries
• postman


  '[the dissapearance of childhood'

  the mass media has brough the adult world into the lives of children e.g sex, drugs, violence

  the boundaries between adulthood and childhood are breaking down
• Buckingham


  children are a major economic force - their tastes have a major effect on what is produced and bought e.g mobile phones 'pester power
• ofcom 2019


  half of ten year olds have a mobile phone
• ofcom 2019 (TV)


  chidlren age 5-15 are much more likely to watch TV on mobile devices, this means they can watch content upsatirs in their rooms where they may be exposed to harmful content
• lee


  childhood has no disappeared but instead become more complex

  children are both dependent and independent

  they can decide what products suceed or fail but are dependent on their parents spending power
• jenks


  postmodern view of childhood

  rekationships are becoming more unstable in modern society (becks zombie family and giddens pure relationship)

  children create an important sense of stability for adults i.e you can divorce your partner but your child will always be your child

  so adults may become obessed with protecting their children
• smart


  have to take into the views of children living in these experiences
• mason and tipper


  children create their own definitions of family e.g close family friends may be aunts and uncles