1. Childhood

2. Brief History of Childhood
Centuries of Childhood (1962) – Philippe Aries
The concept of childhood did not exist in medieval Europe
Based on contemporary letters, diaries and other documents as well as the way children were depicted at the time
Weaned  little adults and treated as such
Worked alongside adults
Behaved like adults in many ways

3. Why might there be problems in using evidence such as paintings and diaries to understand life?

5. Modern Childhood
Developed from the separation of children from the work of adults
Began in the 16th C – upper classes sent their children to schools to be educated
Industrial revolution  child labour
19th C factory acts banned employment of children in mines and factories
End of 19th C elementary state education became compulsory in European countries

6. Modern Childhood Children now had a separate legal status
Accompanied by development of adults specialising in children
Aries
Our world is obsessed with the physical, moral and sexual problems of childhood
Children have different needs

7. Evaluation Criticised for overstating his case
There were laws in medieval Europe e.g.
Prohibition of the marriage of children under 12
Many historians agree with this view, however.

8. Images of Childhood Wendy Rogers (2001)
Social construction of childhood in 20th C Europe
‘innocent and wholesome child’ and ‘wicked and sinful child’
Each image suggests a way of acting toward children
These views suggest that adults should be concerned with children and take responsibility for their upbringing

9. Images of Childhood Welfare View
Forms the basis of social policy toward children in the UK today
Children Act of 1989
‘when a court determines any question with respect to the upbringing of a child…the child’s welfare shall be the court’s paramount consideration’

10. Images of Childhood Control View
Argues that children are unable to control their anti- social tendencies
Rogers
‘there is no natural distinction that marks off children as a certain category of person’ – meaning given to childhood at a time and place

11. In pairs, describe a day in the life of a 5-year old in Britain today
In pairs, describe a day in the life of a 5-year old in Britain today. How many times a day might that child be controlled by adults? Use the headings:
Control over time
Control over space
Control over bodies
Access to resources

12. March of Progress View
Argues that over the past few centuries the position of children in Western societies has been steadily improving and today it is better than it has ever been
De Mause (1974)
“The history of childhood is a nightmare from which we have only recently begun to awaken. The further back in history one goes, the lower the level of childcare, and the more likely children are to be killed, abandoned, beaten, terrorised or sexually abused”

13. March of Progress View Aries has a March of Progress View
Children are more valued
Better care
More protection
Better educated
Better health
More rights
Think about the IMR as well
Family has become child centred
Society has also become child centred
Tweens

14. Conflict View ‘March of Progress’ view is false
Society is based on conflict
There are inequalities between children – risk and care, many remain unprotected
Inequalities between children and adults – experience greater control, oppression and dependency, not care and protection

15. Neglect and Abuse
In ,400 children were on child protection registers (mostly seen at risk from their own parents)
ChildLine  20,000 calls a year (sexual or physical abuse)
‘Dark side’ of the family

16. Control Over Space ‘no schoolchildren’ Surveillance Road safety
1971  80% of 7-8 yr olds allowed to go to school without supervision
1990  fallen to 9%
Hugh Cunningham (2007)
Areas in which children are allowed to travel alone has shrunk to one ninth of the size it was 25 years ago
Cindi Katz (1993)
Rural Sudanese children roam freely around the village and outside of it

17. Control Over Time Control Over Bodies
Samoans  ‘too young’ never given as an excuse
Adults have control and prevent the child from touching their own bodies in certain ways too
Contrast with Trobriand Islands
Control Over Bodies

18. Resources Money! Labour laws Compulsory schooling
Child benefit goes to the….parents
Pocket money given by….parents (control)
Katz
Sudanese children already engaged in productive work from three or four

19. Critics of this view
Reasons for this age patriarchy  children cannot make rational choices (welfare view)
In the same way, children are not totally powerless:
1989 Children Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child  children have a legal right to be protected and consulted

20. The Future of Childhood
Postman (1994) – childhood is disappearing at a dazzling speed
Similarity in clothing
Same rights as adults
Reason: the rise and fall of print culture and then TV culture

21. Activity
Suggest 3 examples of ways in which children’s activities, leisure, dress or food and those of adults have become similar in recent years…

22. Postman has been criticised for overstating his case:
Childhood is a long way from disappearing
Children have become a major economic force:
Taste in consumer goods have a major influence on what is produced and purchased (Buckingham, 2000)

23. Nick Lee (2001) Children are both dependent and independent
Childhood has become more complex and ambiguous
Children are dependent on their parents but in another sense are independent – mass market

24. A Separate Childhood Culture
Opie (1993) – childhood is not disappearing. Argues that there is strong evidence of the continued existence of a separate children’s culture.
The lifetime study on children’s games, rhymes and songs shows that children can do and create their own independent culture separate of that of adults O

25. What is childhood now?? Palmer (2006) – toxic childhood
Computer games, junk food, long work by parents have damaged children’s development
Commercialisation of childhood

26. What is childhood now?
Margo & Dixon (2006) – UK youth are at or near the top of international league tables for obesity, self harm, drug abuse, violence, sexual experiences and teenage pregnancies.
2007 – UNICEF survey ranked UK 21st of 25 for children’s well being
What does this say about childhood?
Why do you think this has happened?

27. Kids with Guns

28. Childhood through the ages

29. The crossover of entertainment

30. In groups create a tv advert that crosses
two generations – think of a product
(toy, game, film) you could sell that appeals
to both adults and children alike
You have 15 minutes to come up with your
advert  then you will show the rest of the class

32. Key Terms Childhood March of progress view Child Centred
Cross-cultural
Social Construction
Disappearance of childhood
Economic asset
Economic burden/liability
Social blurring
Age patriarchy
Infant mortality rate

33. Essay Question
Assess sociological explanations of changes in the status of childhood
(24 marks)
Examine the reasons for the change in the status of children since industrialisation
Examine the reasons for changes in the position of children in the last 200 years
Assess the view that childhood is not a fixed universal experience

34. Questions
Explain what is meant by the social construction of childhood
Benedict identifies three ways in which childhood in non- industrial cultures often differs from childhood in the west. State two of these
Why are children less of an economic asset to their parents today than they were in the past
Give one example of class differences between children
What is age patriarchy?
Why does Postman believe childhood is disappearing?

35. Answers
1. What is meant by ‘childhood’ differs between societies and depends on time, place and culture.
2. Children take responsibility at an earlier age: less value placed on them showing obedience; their sexual behaviour is often viewed differently.
3. Because they cannot work, even part-time, until they are at least 13 years old.
4. Among poorer children these are more likely: low birth weight; delayed development; higher infant mortality rates; longstanding illness; hyperactivity and conduct disorders; falling behind at school; being on the child protection register
5. Adult domination/ control and child dependence.
6. Because television is destroying the information hierarchy between adults and children and giving children access to knowledge that hitherto only adults only possessed.

36. Exam Question
Examine the ways in which childhood can be said to be socially constructed. (24 marks)