Childhood

• the modern western notion of childhood

  • children are regarded as physically and mentally unable to be independent.
  • pilcher - the most important part of childhood is its separateness to adulthood.
  • seen as a golden age.
• Cross cultural differences in childhood

  • punch - Bolivian children expected to work like adults.
  • malinowski - childrens sexual explorations encouraged in pacific islands.
  • firth - less value on parental authority in western pacific
  • benedict - childhood is a social construct
• Globalisation of childhood

  • western countries campaigning against child labour reflect western ideals of childhood and in turn spread the western notion of childhood.
• Ariès - in the Middle Ages, childhood did not exist. children were mini adults and started working once they were weaned. finding based off of children in paintings and documents. Children were depicted as smaller-scale adults.

  Shorter - children were neglected due to higher death rates, they were named after their siblings or addressed as It.
• the modern cult of childhood

  • from 13th century, childhood became a distinct age stage according to Ariès. schools became focused on the education of children, children wore different clothes than adults. we have entered an age obsessed with children.
  • ao3 - pollock - childhood did exist it was just a different notion in comparison to now.
• reasons for the change of children’s position

  • introduction of schooling
  • child protection and legislation
  • declining IMR and family size
  • childs health
  • laws specific to children - age restrictions
  • industrialisation caused then majority of this
• The dissappearance of childhood

  • Postman - childhood is disappearing, children’s are becoming adults.
  • This is due to the rise and decline of print culture, and now the rise of TV.
  • childhood was known as an age of innocence. They did not know secret of life that adults knew.
• the information hierarchy - a sharp division between parents who can read and children who cannot.

  now disappearing because of TV culture
• postman evaluation

  • opie claims he over exaggerates his claims.
• childhood in post-modernity

  jenks - In post modern society, adult relationships are breaking down. Divorce becomes more common and therefore adults associate their stability of emotions with their child. adults put more surveillance and regulations on their child’s life
• jenks ao3

  he overgeneralises and his evidence comes from small unrepresentative studies
• The march of progress view

  The position of children in western societies has steadily improved.

  Children are protected from home and are more valued.
• The child centred family

  By the time a child is 21, the parents would have spent £25,000 on them, children and now the focal point of the family and parents invest in them emotionally and financially. Both media and leisure within society are targeted at children.
• toxic childhood

  Palmer believes that due to technological and cultural changes children have been physically and emotionally and intellectually damaged. UK youth have high rates of obesity self harm and drug abuse
• The conflict view

  there are inequalities among children in terms of class, gender and ethnicity, many children remain unprotected and badly cared for.

  there are inequalities between children and adults
• inequalities between children and adults

  Firestone and Holt - many of the things that much of progress sociologist see as care are actually forms of control, protection from paid work is a form of inequality as children are forcibly made more dependent on their parents. Fire stone and Holt are child liberationists.
• age patriarchy

  gittins - that is an age, patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency, this power can come in the form of violence.

  Hockey and James describe how children rebel through acting up and acting down. Acting up is where children act older than they are whilst acting down is where children act younger than they are.