childhood and demographics

childhood as a social construct

• sociologists see childhood as socially constructed which means it is created and defined by society

• could be about chronological age, biology and physically growing up, or about being protected by specific laws, or having freedom from responsibility

• we tend to think about childhood as a clear and separate period of life that is different from the world of adults.

• during this time children receive a long period of support and socialisation by adults before they are able to take of adult responsibility

evidence of social construction Stephen Wagg

• Stephen Wagg says that because childhood is socially constructed there is not one single universal experience.

• he argues that all humans go through the same physical process of ageing but what it means to be a child depends of other factors

• three ways childhood is different: culture, within same society and historically

cultural differences in childhood

• children take on adult roles as son as they are physically able, such as manual labour

• 1 in 7 children in the world are involved in some kind of work.

• many society have special laws that aim to protect young people

• different cultural norms and values leads to a drastically different experience

differences within the same society

• conception and experiences of children are not the same for everyone even in the same society

• social class: richer parents can afford to give their child more opportunities to aid their social and personal development

• gender: girls will often have a different and more restricted childhood than boys, often a double standard in rules set by parents due to bedroom culture

• ethnicity: these rules are particularly stricter for Asian girls who are more controlled.

historical change: Philippe Aries

• the notion of childhood as a distinctive phase of life between infancy and adulthood is a modern development

• Philippe Aries showed that in medieval times children often moved from infancy to working in the community as little adults.

examples of historical change

medieval child began work at 12/14, children were not really in education but if they were it was to train them as members of the church. children were seen as innocent but there were not really any laws protecting them

Victorian child had laws protecting them at work, school and in the home. 90% of 7-8 year olds were in school and there was a declining birth rate due to the availability of contraception.

march of progress in childhood and child-centredness

medicalisation of childbirth - low infant mortality rates, and the NHS

education - compulsory education, increased funding and leaving age is 18

work - laws against child labour, minimum wage fro 16/17

time - parents spend more time with children, concept of parenting

money - children have more money to spend

many functionalist see the gradual improvements over time as a march of progress. they argue that the family is constantly improving as society develops, with family now being child-centred which means families now revolve around the needs of the child.

is childhood better/worse now

• functionalists argue that the march of progress has improved the status of children’s stability. most children have better diets, medical care, more rights and better education

• however child-centredness does not mean that children are equal to adults. children are till told by parents what they can of, when they can do it or where they can go

legal controls over children

many laws are designed to protect children but some people view them as a form of control which limits independence

Womack: unhappy children

Womack reports that Britain’s children are said to be the unhappiest in the western world for several reasons:

• some do not feel loved by their by parents

• 1/3 live away from biological fathers

• 3.7 million live in poverty

• have poor physical and mental health

• exposure to risks of drugs, alcohol and unsafe sex

• teenage pregnancy one of highest rates in Europe

• 43,000 children have childcare portection plans

• SAD children: stress, anxiety and depression

research suggests that expeirence of family life for many children may not be a happy one due to dependancy on adults and inability to gain legal employment limits opportunities to escape unhappy family lives.

Rebellion

children who are unhappy rebel in many ways

• 3000 crimes per year are committed by those under 10

• 75,000 school children enter youth justice system

• older people commonly complain about young people and antisocial behaviour

• many parents are blamed for not socialising their children correctly

Is childhood disappearing according to Neil Postman

Postman declared that childhood is disappearing, with the life styles of kids and adults merging, he argued that their behaviour, language, styles, and attitudes were becoming indistinguishable and that our children were growing up to fast.

Toxic childhood according to Sue Palmer

Palmer suggested that parents are losing their influence over their kids due to the independence that they have gained from modern technology such as the internet.

many children have their own mobile phones and bedrooms with television, computers, and video game consoles.

parents lack control over the information, images and values that their children are exposed to through these gadgets.

Palmer argues that parents attempt to use these devices to keep children occupied which creates a toxic childhood.

however technology can create a barrier between parents and children as young people develop their own “youth culture” that parents do not understand. this includes use of social media, music and slang

Julia Margo and the media

argo argues that the media has a negative influence on kids because it introduces them to adult issues too early.

a report from Cambridge found that primary school kids were expressing concern about adult related themes like climate change, wealth inequality and terrorism

Halifax pocket money survey found that average child aged 8-15 received pocket money of £6.35 a week. Margo argues that while young children use pester power to get their way, older children are able to make their own decisions about spending, which transforms them into gullible consumers.

the sexualisation of childhood

Margo suggest that another indicator of a loss of childhood is the lowering average age of first sexual intercourse.

average age in 1950s was 20 for men and 21 for women. average age in 1990s was 16 for men and women.

margo also explains that advertisers and retailers are encouraging children to dress and act in a sexually precocious way. teenagers are being given sex tips, and encouraged to act adult in their behaviour from magazines

what is demography and how is it collected

demography is the study of population.

in order for the government to prepare social policy, they need to know and understand current and future trends of population size and distribution. this data is necessary to allocate resources, land, housing, education, and finance.

this information is collected every year 10 years with the census which was a postal questionnaire but changed to online in 2021

four main factors that influence population

• birth rate

• death rate

• immigration

• emigration

demographic transition model

globalisation and net migration

the ongoing process of technological and axial change that is increasing the interconnectedness of economic, cultural and political spheres across the world

net migration is total immigrants - total emigrants

push and pull factors

push factors: escaping poverty, few jobs, living in a war zone, religious/political persecution or undesirable climate

pull factors” job opportunities, educational opportunities, higher standard of living, political/religious freedom and joining relatives

impact of migration on families

• more immigration from EU

• more undocumented workers

• more asylum seekers

• greater cultural diversity

• changing family size

• Ulrich Beck talks of growth in world families and distant love in which love exists across continents

• Deborah Chambers notes of increase of mail order brides and enforced prostitution. she also points to an increase in hiring au pairs and nannies from poor countries by those who can afford

UK statistics and fertility rates

number of dependant children per family - 1900=6 whereas 2012=1.7

number of people per household - 1914=4.6 whereas 2014=2.4

number of deaths per 1000 people - 1902=18 whereas 2012=9

general fertility rate

the number of live births per 1000 women of child-bearing age (15-44) per year. 55.8 in 2021

total fertility rate

the average number of children that women will have during their child bearing years. 1.61 in 2021

China and the one child policy

• china enforced laws that made it illegal to have more than one child in order to slow its rapid population growth, implemented in 1980 and abolished in 2021.

• fertility rate was 3.01 in 1975-80 and went to 1.55 in 2010-15

• median age in 1975 was 20.1 and 37 in 2015

Singapore and national night

• Singapore has problems with low fertility rates and a shrinking population

• SIngapore’s government said they need 50,000 children per year and they only had 30,000

• to combat this they implemented financial incentives and introduced $4000 each for first two children and then $6000 each for next two

contraception

• birth control pill first available in 1961 on the NHS for married women and then was available for all women on NHS in 1967

• social attitudes towards contraception have also change Daryl due to growing secularisation and the declining influence of the church and religion on people’s behaviour

the rising costs of having kids

• main reason that average family size is declining because of rising costs

• number of one child family has risen from 16% in 1972 to 20% in 2011.

• 58% of these family said their reasons were due to money

• research found that each child costs £154,000 from birth to age 18

changing positions of women

• feminism has raised the status of women and created greater employment opportunities which means women have less desire to spend long periods of their life raising children

• Angela McRobbie builds on Sharpe’s findings by looking at the implications on the number of children born. the desire for a degree and a rewarding career limits number of children, or women are delaying until careers established

• 25% of women are expected to be childless at 45

other factors affecting family size

• compulsory education - children are not economic asset anymore but actually a liability because they cannot work anymore

• declining infant mortality - better medical care can have less children because they are not dying anymore

• geographical mobility - easier for smaller families to relocate compared to larger ones

• changing values - children are a lifelong commitment that not all people are willing to choose now that societal pressure has stopped.

life expectancy definition and current stats

an estimate of how long the average newborn can be expected to live in a particular country.

men - 79

women - 83

most population growth has been due to natural increase with more births than deaths and an increasing life expectancy.

global life expectancy stats

• Europe and east/SE Asia is at the top

• countries with larger populations are around the middle, countries with smaller pops have lower life expectancy

• African countries have the lowest life expectancy

• women live longer than men in every country

five factors for growth

• improved hygiene/sanitation/medicine

• higher living standards

• public health and welfare

• health education

• improved working conditions

reasons for rising life expectancy: Thomas McKeown

argues that an important diet and nutrition has been more significant in wiping out epidemic diseases than medical advances

reasons for rising life expectancy: Neil Tranter

argues that medical advances like improved surgery, vaccines, and antibiotics are the reason for risking life expectancy

life expectancy stats

• only 1% of babies born in1908 lived to be 100

• in 1901 life expectancy was 45 and 49 for women

• from 1901-2010 the number of people aged 40 and older trebled from 9.7 million to 30.8 million

advantages of an ageing population

• a boost to the economy - people have money to spend

• more social cohesion - older people don’t commit antisocial behaviour as they accept their position in society

• less crime - as there is more old people, crime rates should decreased

• family support - helping with childcare

abolition of the retirement age and Kayte Lawton

• rising life expectancy means older people are effectively, “younger”, fitter and healthier than previous generation

• due to this the government abolished the retirement age in 2011 meaning that employers can no longer force workers to retire once they reach 65 years old

• Kayte Lawton - argues that this older people the freedom to work longer if they choose. However many will plan to retire around this age and can collect a state pension when they are eligible. this means that the power of the grey pound has potential to be greater than ever before

disadvantages of ageing population

• dependancy ratio - people of working age (15-64) compared to the dependant and not of working age (0-14 and 65+). in 2002 this was 49 dependants for every 100 workers but in 2022 this was 57 dependants for every 100 workers

• pensions timebomb - a study found that although people aged 65 or older account for around 1 in 6 of the population, they occupied over half of the time people spent in hospital, and consumed over 60% of the 1 billion drugs described in 2013. around half of state welfare budget is spent of pensioners and without welfare reforms, the worry is that these costs will keep on rising until they are out of control.

• the sandwich generation - people who have dependant children and dependant parents to care for. this support can be social, economic and emotional

• overcrowding and housing - increased population means increased overcrowding on public transport, roads, and a need to build more homes. old people occupying their houses for longer makes it more difficult for young people to find affordable homes.

postmodernist, feminist and marxist views on ageing population

postmodernist - see age as socially constructed. attitudes to old age are changing in the media, as magazines and advertisers often portray the “young old” rather than the “old old”. also highlights how modern technology allows people to mask their age through plastic surgery.

young old - recently retired often physically fit

old old - nearing end of life

feminist - the burdens of caring for the elderly often fall on women even though they also carry most of the burden in their own homes.

marxist - Chris Philipson believe that attitudes to old age are influenced by capitalism. he says that because the elderly are seen as ‘too old to work’ they are cast aside by society because they are no longer able to contribute to the economy

what is Ageism

when someone is discriminated against because of their age. this is illegal in the uk and most countries. many pressure groups such as global campaign to combat ageism who aim to reduce this

government policy about ageism

• 2010 equality act - protected characteristic

• states that you must not be discriminated against because:

1. you are/are not a certain age or are in a certain age group

2. if someone thinks you are/are not a specific age or age group, this is known as discrimination by perception

3. if you are connected to someone of a specific age or age group, this is know as discrimination by association.

affects older and younger people