Family and Households: Childhood

In today's society Childhood is seen as a special time in a person’s life and is a clear distinct life stage. Children dress differently to adults, play with toys, eat different food and are protected from the dangers of the adult world. However, this view of childhood is not found in all societies. Childhood can be seen as a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, basically meaning that it is defined by society and is not a natural or biological state. Childhood is shaped, and given meaning by our culture, therefore behaviour seen as appropriate for children, the way children should be treated, and the time at which childhood should end, are all socially constructed.
1. SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION : Something that is created by society, constructed from social meanings and definitions
2. CROSS- CULTURE Is when we compare two cultures looking at similarities and differences, in this instance we are focused on childhood.
  1. Samantha Punch: Once children are 5 years old, they are expected to take work responsibilities in nomes and communities. he found this in a study of childhood in rural Bolivia
  2. Lowell Holmes: study of the salmon village found out that 'too young' was never given as a reason for not permitting a child to undertake a particular task. this consisted of handling heavy tools and dangerous materials
  3. Raymond Firth (1963): The Pacific Island of Tikopia: doing what you are told to do by an adult is concession to be granted by the child, not a right to be expected by the adult. adults took an attitude of tolerance amused interest towards children sexual exploitations and activities
Exam Questions:
1. Do all children around the world experience childhood in the same way? Explain your answer.
2. Childhood is not always a positive experience. List all the ways that an individual’s childhood may be negatively affected.
3. Has the position of children changed over time?• The march of progress view argues that over the past few centuries the position of children in western societies has improved and is now better than it has ever been.
4. The disappearance of childhood • Look at the content of the media today. Are children exposed to too much? • What are they shown on TV? • How does new media increase the risks of childhood? • Can you find any stats to support your argument?
5. Children as consumers: • Does this contribute towards the disappearance of childhood? • Are children growing up too quickly? • What issues may this cause in the family?
Womack (2011) reports that British children are said to be the unhappiest in the west. Family break down is the cause of considerable childhood angst. With 1/3 of British 16 year olds living away from their biological parents.
1. Age patriarchy is the concept that adults control and oppress children due to their superiority based on age. This may lead to tension and angst.
2. Childhood (pre- industrialisation) Initially after industrialization children were still treated in this ‘cold’ fashion, especially among the WORKING CLASSES, whose children were frequently found working in factories, mines and mills. However, Aries argued that in MIDDLE-CLASS families attitudes were changing due to the growth of marital and parental love. At the same time the infant mortality rate started to fall. Social attitudes really started to change in the middle of the 19th Century. The Factory Acts banned children from working in factories and mines where thousands of them had been killed or injured. However, some working class parents resisted these moves because they depended on their child’s wages. Many 19th Century campaigners were concerned about juvenile delinquency, beggars and child prostitution, and consequently wanted to get children off the streets. However, there is considerable evidence to suggest that children continued to be badly treated in this period, and c
3. Childhood in the 20th century The 20th century saw the emergence of a CHILD-CENTRED society. This was probably the result of improved standards of living and nutrition in the late 19th century, which lead to a major decline in the infant mortality rate. The higher standard of living also meant that having children became more expensive. The increased availability and efficiency of CONTRACEPTION allowed people to choose to have fewer children. Consequently, parents were able to invest more in them in terms of love, socialisation and protection. Aries claimed that children in modern society have lost their independence. He describes the 20th century as “the century of the child”
Philippe Aries (1962): Centuries of Childhood: Aries argued that: 1.Childhood is a recent social invention 2.Children in past seen as mini-adults 3. Children were economic asset 4. It was difficult to invest emotion because of short life-expectancy
1. Criticisms of Aries
  1. • Aries has been criticised for underestimating the difference between adults and children in Medieval Europe. For example, laws did exist that prohibited the under 12’s getting married. However, many historians support Aries’ views.
  2. • Aries work was based on ‘the analysis of images of children in historical sources’ therefore it may be criticised for being unreliable
Wendy Stainton Rogers (2001): Rogers believes there are two different images of children in 20th century Europe:
1. 1) ‘The innocent and wholesome child’: • They are seen as happy and joyous. The children should be protected from adulthood world such as violence and worries.
2. 2) ‘The wicked and sinful child’: • They are seen as children that should be restrained, regulated and disciplined.
3. Rogers’ views indicate that adults should be concerned about children and therefore take responsibility. This has lead to two differing views on how adults should care for children:
  1. THE WELFARE VIEW: • Children should be protected from harm •Provided housing •Food •Clothing •Healthcare •Education •Protected from abuse •Loved and cared for •Allowed to develop
  2. THE CONTROL VIEW: •Laws in place to stop children partaking in activities. E.g. age of consent. •Forbidden in certain areas alone •Stranger danger •Road safety •Routines – time to get up, go to bed etc. •What children wear, how they walk and talk •May even be prevented from touching their own body : picking their nose. •Pocket money •Child benefit goes to parent not the child •Neglect and abuse
Children’s Act (1989): The act highlights children's rights. It identifies parental responsibilities to their child for example parents must:  Safeguard and promote the child’s health, development and welfare  Provide the child with appropriate direction and guidance
Childhood and the state • Concern over the rights of children can be seen in greater state involvement in protecting them. Parents’ rearing of children is now monitored through varies pieces of legislation, such as the 1989 CHILDREN ACT. • The role of SOCIAL SERVICES and SOCIAL WORKERS is to police those families in which children are thought to be at risk. • The state also supervises the SOCIALIZATION of children through COMPULSORY EDUCATION, which currently lasts 11 years (although is likely to become 13) • The state also takes some ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITY by paying CHILD-BENEFIT and CHILDREN’S TAX CREDITS to parents. • It is also against the law for children to complete any form of paid work.
Childhood in an age of uncertainty: Nick Lee (2001): Lee believes that the social construction of childhood is changing. Children used to be seen as ‘unstable and incomplete’ in comparison to adults who were seen as ‘stable and complete’ human beings. • However, adulthood is now considered to be very ‘unstable’ at times due to high divorce rates and the fact that a job is no longer for life. • This means that ‘growing up’ is no longer seen as a journey towards personal completion and stability, as adulthood is far from stable
1. Criticisms of this view:
  1. 1) Children as major economic force – children need to be exposed to the adult world to increase their want and desires for adult belongings and therefore increase their consumption of capitalist products.
  2. 2) Nick Lee – Nick Lee claims that adults and children are equally unstable and incomplete in modern society therefore should not be separated.
  3. 3) Postman over emphasises a single cause- of the disappearance of childhood to be TV and excludes other factors such as living standards.
Children within the family: The Child Centred Family: Victorian era = children were ‘seen but not heard’. The family is now in a state of ‘child-centeredness’ – what does this mean? • This is where the wishes and desires of children are often put before the adults own choices.
1. Berger and Berger (1983): Claim that child centred families in the 19th century made the American family a success, child centeredness is seen as progress.
Children as consumers Robert Bocock (1993): Believes that children are now more than ever influencing the purchase of capitalist products. This is certainly the case for ‘teenagehood’. Many products are now aimed directly at children therefore they ‘create’ and ‘construct’ their identity as children. Children are now consumers rather than economic contributors to the family as they were in Victorian times.
Sue Palmer (2006) Toxic childhood: • Sue Palmer is the author of Toxic Childhood which she wrote in 2006. • She discuss how the media and modern technology has impacted on children and has led to toxic childhood syndrome. • She makes links between the media children are exposed to and conditions such as ADHD, autism and dyslexia … these didn’t exist until the late 20th century • Palmer suggests technology is not all bad we just need to establish what is good for our children in the right doses. • She offers parents ways to detox their children for example encouraging them to play outdoors and climb trees.
Melanie Phillips: In her book ‘All Must Have Prizes’, Phillips argues that the culture of parenting in the UK has broken down and the ‘innocence’ of childhood has been undermined by two trends: 1) Children have been given too many RIGHTS and POWERS : and this has affected parenting. She believes children should be socialised to respect parental authority and she is against the ban on smacking. 2)She is also worried that the MEDIA and the PEER GROUP have become more influential than parents: She says magazines aimed at young girls, music videos and TV as a particular problem, because they encourage young girls to envisage themselves as sexual beings at a young age.
1. • These trends mean that the period of childhood has shortened – it is no longer a sacred and innocent period lasting up to 13 or 14 years. Phillips complains that adulthood encroaches upon the experiences of children a great deal earlier than in the past.
2. • She argues that many children do not have the emotional maturity to cope with the rights and choices that they have today. The result she believes, is an increase in social problems such as suicide, eating disorders, self-harm, depression and drug/alcohol abuse.
Impact on social policy: The assumptions made by the conventional approaches (Functionalism, New Right etc) have been very influential on SOCIAL POLICY. For example, in FAMILY LAW and especially the DIVORCE COURTS, children are portrayed as potential victims in need of protection from the law and the state. • Children tend not to be given any say in the decisions made by parents, judges and politicians (although this is beginning to change). It is assumed that they lack the maturity and experience to contribute to the debate about their futures.

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