Families Topic 6- Childhood

Front 1

Sociological debate

Back 1

• childhood is constructed by society
• how children are treated depends on dominant ideologies, laws and social policies of a particular society
• differentiation within social factors also shapes how we treat children
• childhood experiences are universal

Front 2

biological debate

Back 2

• childhood was passive
• the way children were treated was accepted

Front 3

Factors that have contributed towards a child centred society

Back 3

• privatised family life (17th century)
• compulsory education
• infant mortality rate decreasing
• child maintenance support
• NHS - different medications
• NSPCC - protects children
• seperate wards for children in hospitals
• children act 1989
• increased age for things such as drinking
• Factory act 1833 - drawing a line between adults and children

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16th Century

Back 4

• no birth records so weren't defined by age
• started work around the age of seven
• both children and adults worked and played

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17th Century

Back 5

• shift in the position of power
• more of an authority figure (mother)
• adults started to care for children more
• infant mortality rate started decreasing

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Aries

Back 6

• studied paintings from the 16th and 17th century
• argues that medieval childhood didn't start to resemble modern childhood until the 17th century
• due to really high infant mortality rates, bad sanitation etc.
• no real emotional bond because they could die
• in the Masai tribe they don't name their children until their six months old because of the chance of them dying
• families started to spend more time in their homes - especially the middle class

Front 7

Pollock (1983

Back 7

• criticised Aries theory
  
• said that in medieval society less was recorded so there is less evidence to go on
• paintings were done by the wealthy for the wealthy so they would be painted however they wanted
• only ever took into consideration the middle and upper class so didn't think about how the working class situation only got worse

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pre-industrial childhood

Back 8

• in the 16th century adults and children shared a lot of characteristics as they both worked and played together
• people didn't live as long either which Aries suggests is why children were treated more like adults

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Ruth Benedict - pre-industrial childhood

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childhood used to be treated differently in pre-industrial societies:

1. more responsibility at an early age- Punch (2001)- points out that in rural Bolivia 5 year old's are expected to take on work responsibilities at home
2. less value placed on obedience to adult authority - Firth (1970)- found that the Tikopia tribe in the western pacific believe that children are well within their rights to dismiss orders from parents - parents must earn respect
   
3. sexual behaviour is viewed differently - Malinoski (1957)- found that the Trobriand Islanders (south west pacific were tollerant of children's sexual exploration

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early industrial childhood

Back 10

• changes in childhood took a long time to filter down to the working class
• industrialisation did not lead to radical change
• poverty and labour exploitation was common
• children worked in factories, mines or mills- often killed or injured
• child labour was a main source of income for a lot of working class parents, especially if the had a lot of children

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childhood during industrialisation - The 1870 Education Act

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• made it possible for people in the poor law union to petition for a school to be set up in their local area
• if they were successful a school would be set up with parents having to pay fees unless they were poor enough and then they would be exempt
• this helped define the roles of parent and child and triggered different behavioural patterns among them
• this is because schools could make attendance mandatory
• 1891 - introduction of free elimentary school
• church set up the board of education
• 1893 - compulsory for deaf and blind children to attend school

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NSPCC

Back 12

• introduced in 1889
• founded because of the suffering of children
• Victorian era was very dangerous for children - lots of abuse
• cruelty to children was not a prosecutable crime
• aim - to get an act to protect children
• influenced the perception of children as innocents

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Factory Act 1833-1901

Back 13

• 1833 - four rules introduced:
• - no child workers under 9
• - reduced hours for 9-13 year old's (8 hrs)
• - two hours schooling a day for under 13's
• - four factory inspectors employed to enforce throughout the country
• 1847 - under 18's and women couldn't work more than ten hours a day
• 1901- minimum work age raised to 13

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Champman (2004) - industrial childhood

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suggests that childhood didn't really appear until child labour stopped and education became compulsory

Front 15

Childhood during the 20th century

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• the social construction of children changed dramatically in the 20th century due to factors such as:
• - the children act 1989
• - compulsory education (1856)
• - the NHS
• - social services
• - paedatrics - the science of childhood
• - laws of exclusion i.e. drinking age
• theses made children seem more innocent- laws such as the drinking age suggest that children aren't old enough to make their own decisions
  

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impacts of the education system on childhood

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• prolonging the leaving age
• provides a safe place and routine
• more expectations when you eventually leave
• secondary socialisation - can correct primary socialisation if not given
• more safeguarding e.g. bullying

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school leaving age

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• 1880 the elementary education act - 5-10 yrs
• 1918 the fisher act 5-14 yrs
• 1944 education act - 5-15 yrs
• 1996 education act - 5-16 yrs
• 2008 education and skills act 5-18 - didn't come into play until 2015

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evaluation of school leaving age increases

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• more valued
• takes care of their wellbeing
• not letting them be independent
• not necessarily preparing them for the workforce

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20th century children and the state - NHS

Back 19

overseas children's health in a variety of ways

• Antenatal care
• maternity
• post natal care
• vaccinations of children
• family GP's
• specialist children's hospitals

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Social services and social workers

Back 20

• making sure children are cared for even if its not by their parents
• not always represented very well in the media
• they have an obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable children
• can provide a wide range of services to children and their parents
• social workers seen as stand in parents when they're not

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why social services may become involved

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• a family may request family support services in a time of stress or regarding a certain child or issue
  
• they can help with a disabled family member or who are caring for disabled children
• there may be threats to a child's safety
• a family may request that a child be temporarily put into foster care or residential care
• a child could be put up for adoption either at the parents request or after a court hearing
• to help families assess any problems that are affecting the child

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Laws of exclusion

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• laws such as the drinking age, driving, age etc.
  
• trying to protect children

suggesting their not old enough to make their own decisions

• separating them

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New right/ functionalist perspective

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• deviant families create a decline in childhood
• nuclear family is essential for primary socialisation
• media is responsible for taking away childhood - secondary socialisation
• conspicuous consumption
• social blurring
• pester power

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socialisation - the role of parenting

NR+ F

Back 24

says that childhood would exist if parents socialised their children properly through traditional values

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family type

NR+F

Back 25

• nuclear family is essential
• deviant families e.g. single parent families undermine childhood
• working mothers are the cause of the decline in civilised childhood

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State Policies and the media

Phillip (1997) - New Right

Back 26

• says that children should be socialised into a healthy respect for parent authority
• the innocence of children has been undermined by two things :
• 1. state policies - giving too many right and power- parents can no longer control their behaviour
• 2. The media - the media encourages children to sexualise themselves - many children not emotional mature enough - leads to increase in depression and suicide

Front 27

Postman (1982)

Back 27

• television exposes children to the adult world too soon
• childhood is being lost for two reasons:
• television - unlimited access to adult world
• social blurring-
• mixed ideas given to children about responsibility etc.

Front 28

Criticisms of Postman - Brooks (2001)

Back 28

• says Postman's arguments were not based on real evidence
• parents today are obsessed with the safety of their children
• and are more concerned with creating boundaries

Front 29

Technology - Palmer (2007)

Back 29

• parents using technology as an alternative to traditional parenting methods
• children deprived of traditional family life
• children unable to strive socially

Front 30

consumerism - New right/ functionalist

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• "Pester Power" - children pestering their parents into buying them things
• Pugh (2002) - idea of Consumption as compensation
• Conspicuous consumption- when parents buy their children things as a representation of their families wealth
  

Front 31

Postmodernism on childhood

Back 31

• children are given a right to their association with their parents
• parents have to answer to their children so must show respect to gain respect
• we are seeing new versions of family types, so no experiences are the same

Front 32

Interactionalism on childhood

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• criticises the New right for ignoring the idea that children take active approaches in the social construction of their childhood
• (they have an impact on their own childhood)

Front 33

Morrow (1998) - interactionalism

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found that children took on a childlike role within the family

children should therefore have the right to make an active contribution to their childhood

Front 34

Valentine (1999) - interactionalism

Back 34

children (often teenagers) fight for the right to independence

argues that:

• children want more rights but the state and law enforcement's control them
• creates tension between children wanting to be active agents and parents protecting them
• can lead to the self-fulfilling prophecy

Front 35

Giddens - Interactionalism

Back 35

argues that childhoods are becoming more individualised because of a child's control over economic consumption and a decline in the traditional relationship between parent and child

says the new media has caused a decline in this relationship

Front 36

Gender and childhood

Walter (1996)

Back 36

• images that appeared in the media that were supposed to empower female bodies haven't done
• the media has encouraged and sexualised a childhood for young girls
• choice of toys and dress for young girls are influenced by media representations

Front 37

Sharpe (1976), Oakley (1985) and Fine (2010)

feminism

Back 37

• girls and boys are socialised into a set of behaviours based on cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity
  
• girls are socialised to be feminine whereas boys are taught to fight for themselves
• feminists argue that this is teaching girls to be passive and therefore they won't stand up for themselves in a patriarchal society

Front 38

McRobbie (2000)

Back 38

girls experiences of childhood may differ from boys because parents see them as being in need of greater protection from the outside world

Front 39

Chapman

Back 39

'toning down their emotional intimacy'