childhood policies

• changes to childhood

  • children now more dependant
  • postman - childhood is disappearing
  • palmer - toxic childhood
  • society more child-centred
• children now more dependant

  • cuts to student grants and introduction of tuition fees (new labour 1998) - more students go to local unis/ stayed home/ did not go uni
  • creation of zero hour contracts - lead to boomerang kids - returning home when employment ends due to insecure employment contracts
  • extension of compulsory schooling to 18 - led to children requiring financial support for longer
• childhood is disappearing

  • national curriculum - standardised testing leading to impact on childrens mental health
  • cuts to lone parent benefits - children more involved in the family financially e.g become breadwinner at young age
  • reduction in social care provision - increase in number of child carers
  • divorce act - lead to children in the middle of family conflict
• society has become more child-centred

  • childrens act
  • policies on contraception and abortion
  • marketisation of education - allowed more parental choice on child's education
• migration policies

  • leads to families being unable to live together
• social class policies 


  w/c children and lone parent families disadvantaged by austerity policies

  e.g universal credit, bedroom tax, cuts to child tax credits
• same sex marriage

  labour government passed marriage act - included civil marriage of same sex couples

  meant children may grow up with parents of the same sex
• child benefit act 1975

  • The Child Benefit Bill introduced for the first time a universal payment, paid for each child.
  • The rate payable was £1/week for the first and £1.50 for each subsequent child.
  • An additional 50p was payable to lone-parent families.
  • 2013 - child benefit became means tested - those earning £60k get nothing
• 2023 child benefit

  • £24 a week for the first child
  • £15.90 a week for each subsequent child. 
  • There is no limit to the number of children parents will receive child benefit for.  
  • They are payable to everyone whether working or in receipt of Universal Credit and the payments are in addition to the child payment part of universal credit. 
• universal credit 2013

  • replaced a wide range of individual benefits - income support, housing benefit, working tax credit, child tax credit
  • encourage people into work by making sure they are not earning less when working in part-time or low-paid jobs compared to claiming benefits. 
  • 1st child = £315. 2nd child = £270 further children=nothing
• adoption act 2005

  • new labour policy
  • the law on adoption changed, giving unmarried couples, including gay couples, the right to adopt on the same basis as married couples.