“the history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only begun to awaken”
Aries & Shorter: MOP view
Todays children are more valued e.g. better cared for, educated, protected and have more rights than those of previous generations.
PM society - childhood
parents are having less children and later, (better foundations - career) so can afford to meet their children’s needs properly = child entered family.
£230,000 spent on child on avg, by age 21
Families are child-centered
Children are no longer ‘seen and not heard’ instead, children are a focal point of the family - parents consider feelings of their children.
Parents now invest in children
Parents want the best for their children, and at least better than they had, so they invest emotionally and financially. This can lead to some shame if not (ethnicities)
Society is also child centred
e.g. child media outlets, cbeebies, news round, childhood activities.
AO3: Toxic childhood
Palmer (2010): technology and culture changes in the last 25 years have damaged children’s physical emotional & intellectual development.
e.g. junk food, computer games, extreme ed testing, social media.
concerns of young peoples mental health & behaviour e.g. self-harm, eating disorders, substance abuse, peer on peer violence, early sexual experiences, teenage pregnancy, obesity in children.
UNICEF (2013): Uk was 16th/29 for children’s well-being.
