Toxic childhood and march of progress

MOP - De Mause (1974)

• ‘Childhood is nightmare from which we have recently awoken’

MOP - Aries and Shorter

• Now children are more…and have

  • Valued

  • Cared for

  • Protected

  • Educated

  • Better healthcare

  • More rights

• There are laws against child labour and abuse

• Professionals cater for their educational, psychological and medical needs

Criticism of Aries and Shorter

• These improvements are not applicable to all children

  • Children’s experiences of childhood vary by their class, ethnicity and gender

MOP - child-centred family

• The decrease in family size has led to children having better living standards

  • Parents can afford their child’s living expenses and needs

MOP — 6 areas that demonstrate a MOP

1. Work

2. Education

3. Medicalisation of childbirth and early childcare

4. Money spent on children

5. Parental engagement with children

6. Child welfare — legal protection and ‘rights of the child’

MOP — 1833 Factories Act 2 actions

• Illegal to employ children under the age of 9 in textiles factories

• Required factories to provide children aged 9-13 with at least 12 hours of education a week

MOP — 1867 Factories Act 2 actions

• Illegal to employ children under the age of 8 in all factories

• Required factories to provide children aged 8-13 with at least 10 hours of education a week

MOP — 1878 Factories Act 1 action

• Illegal to employ children under age of 10

MOP — working today

• Only full-time from 16 and has to be in combination with employment

• Can work aged 14-15 but restrictions on hours and industries (‘light work’)

MOP — 1880 Education Act

• Education compulsory from 5-12 y/o

MOP — 1944 Butler Education Act

• School leaving age raised to 14

MOP — 1973

• School leaving age raised to 16

MOP — 2013

• Must remain in education or work with training until 18

MOP — 🇬🇧 gov’t spending on education /year

£100bn

MOP — number of people employed in child-education sector

500 000

MOP — 2007-16 increase in public spending on children

• £6bn → £8bn

MOP — 4 rights you have at 16

1. Drive a moped

2. Get a job (with training)

3. Serve in the armed forces

4. Change your name

MOP — 2013-19 % increase in expenditure by parents on their first newborn child

20%

MOP — money spend on child by the time they turn 21

£227,000

MOP — time spent with fathers 1974-2014

• 7x longer!

  • … from 5 to 35 minutes

Toxic childhood - Palmer (2007; 2010)

• Rapid cultural and technological changes in the past 25 years have damaged children’s development

Toxic childhood - Palmer (2007; 2010) — 3 examples of changes

1. Physical: junk/fast food

2. Emotional: computer games, long parental working hours

3. Intellectual: intensive marketing directed at children, growing emphasis on testing in education

Toxic childhood - UNICEF (2013) - UK ranking for children

• 16th out of 20 countries

Toxic childhood - UNICEF (2013) - UK ranking for young people’s health and behaviour

• The UK is above international averages for young people’s health and behaviour, including

  • Obesity

  • Self-harm

  • Drug/alcohol abuse

  • Violence

  • Early sexual experience

  • Teen pregnancy

CRITICISM of MOP — Marxists and feminists

• MoP view of childhood is based on a false idealised image and ignores inequalities

  • Inequalities among children

    • Opportunities

    • Risks

    • Many are unprotected and uncared for

  • Inequalities between adults and children

    • Domination (oppression)/subordination