childhood

• Pilcher

  in western Europe today childhood is distinctly separate from adulthood with children being specially protected and regulated as well as having separate rights and responsibilities from adults
• childhood outside of the western world

  elsewhere in the world young children work in dangerous jobs or serve as soldiers - this shows that it isn't a universal concept for all childhood to be protected
• Wagg

  Childhood is socially constructed and there is no "single, universal childhood"

  argues that children must be understood separately from biological immaturity
• Aries study of childhood

  examined historical artwork and concluded that the concept of childhood is about 300 years old
• what did Aries say about childhood ?

  he argued that since industrialisation a cultural change occurred and children came to be seen as requiring care and being different to adults
• evaluation of Aries

  critics argue that the research method of choice isn't valid because medieval family portraits only represent a small minority of the population
• Pollock's criticism of Aries

  criticised his methodology

  just because children looked different to what they do now it doesn't mean that there was no concept of childhood
• march of progress of childhood

  the development has led to families being increasingly child - focused

  children have become a financial burden instead of a financial asset due to child labour being abolished
• Jenks (2005)


  argues that adults today focus on their children and their relationship with their children because they are focused on their potential and future and allowing them a different childhood to what they had
• evaluation of the march of progress view

  Palmer - argues that childhood has become toxic because they spend too long on screens and not enough time playing outside and this causes child obesity and lack of communication skills
• Postman (1994)

  argues that childhood is disappearing at a 'dazzling speed' and that children today grow up very quickly

  the distinction between children and adults is becoming blurred
• evaluation of Postman

  childhood is still distinct from adulthood financially and culturally
• working class experience of childhood

  working class children are more likely to have a poor diet, poor housing and then this causes worse health conditions
• ethnicity and childhood

  black and mixed race children are more likely to be in care than white or Asian children
• gender and childhood

  parents are more strict and controlling on girls than they are on boys