A-level sociology family: the nature of childhood

childhood changes

what year is pre industrial age?

1300-1750

what year is the industrial age?

1750-1945

what year is the modern age?

1945- now

what was childhood like during the pre-industrial age?

-childhood did not exist

-childhood were 'mini' adults

-children worked and had responsibility

-children faced the same punishments as adults

-the family was a unit of production

-high infant mortality rates meant parents did not form an attachment to their children

what was childhood like during the industrial age?

-children became protected by laws

-expectation to work had been replaced with expectation to work had been replaced with the expectation to go to school

-Josephine butler, a feminist had helped pressure parliament to raise age the sexual age of consent from 13-16 years to help combat prostitution

-childhood and adulthood became more distinct as childhood was viewed as vulnerable and in need of protection

what was childhood like during modern/mid 1990s?

-child centred society where children are valued, love and protected

-improved standards of living= major decline in infant mortality rate

-increased availability of contraception meant couples could choose to have fewer children= invest more time in them in terms of love, socialisation and protection

what 4 laws had an impact on childhood during the industrial age?

1841 mines act- children under 10 shouldn't work in mines

1847 ten hour act- no child to work more than 10 hours

1874 factory act- no child under 10 to be in factories

1870 forster act- compulsory schooling from ages 5 and 13

how has laws restricting child labour impacted the changes in position of children?

children went from being economic assets who could earn a wage to becoming an economic liability-financially dependant on their parents

how has introduction of compulsory schooling impacted the changes in position of children?

in 1880 poor children had to go to school (as middle class children already had an education)

the raising of the school leaving age has extended the period of dependancy for children

how has child protection legalisation impacted the changes in position of children?

the 1889 prevention of cruelty to children act was introduced and this made the welfare of the child a fundamental principle underpinning the work of agencies like social services

how has the growth of children's right impacted the changes in position of children?

the children's act 1889 defines parents as having 'responsibilities' rather than 'rights' the united nations convention on the right of a child lays down basic rights like entitlement to healthcare and education, protection from abuse and the right to participate in decisions that affect them- court cases

how has declining family size and infant mortality impacted the changes in position of children?

has encouraged parents to make a greater financial and emotional investments in the fewer children that they now have

how has children's development and medicine impacted the changes in position of children?

Jacques Donzelot 1977 observed how theories of child development that began to appear from the 19th century stressed that children need supervision and protection

how has laws and policies for children impacted the changes in position of children?

minimum ages for a wide range of activities from sex to smoking have reinforced the idea that children are different from adults and so different rules must be applied to their behaviour

what is a child centred society?

-more focus

-more money

-more love

-increased living standards

-housing and public health

how does the march of progress view the position of children?

they believe that the position of children has improved:

-child centred society

-higher status

-increased health and lower infant mortality

-laws and rights

-children's act 1989

-international rights of the child

which sociologist believes in 'toxic childhood'?

sue palmer

why does Palmer believe childhood has become toxic?

she argues that rapid technological and cultural changes in the past 25 years have damaged children's physical, emotional and intellectual development

what is the conflict view?

a view consisting of marxists and feminists arguing that society is based on a conflict between different social groups, such as social classes or genders

what is the march of progress view of childhood?

a view where they believe that the position of children has improved dramatically in a short time period

what do conflict sociologists believe about childhood?

they argue that the march of of progress of modern childhood is based on a false and idealised image that ignores important inequalities

-inequalities among children in terms of the opportunities and risks they face

-inequalities between children and adults are greater than ever , children today experience greater control, oppression and dependency not greater care and protection

what do conflict sociologists say about the inequalities among children?

they believe that not all children share the same status or experiences- eg: children of different nationalities are likely to experience different childhoods and different life chances

-90% of the worlds low birth weight babies are born in developing countries

what did Mayer Hillman find about the gender differences among children?

according to hillman boys are more likely to be allowed to cross or cycle on roads, use buses and go out after dark unaccompanied

what did Jens Bonke find about gender differences among children?

Bonke found that girls do more domestic labour- especially in lone parent families where they do 5x more housework than boys

what did Julia Brannen find about ethnic differences among children?

in her study of 15-16 year olds she found that Asian parents were more likely than other parents to be stricter towards their daughters

what do conflict sociologist say about inequalities between children and adults?

they argue that there are big inequalities of power between a child and an adult in comparison to the march of progress view who see it as a way adults use it to protect and benefit children

what does Firestone argue about the inequalities between children and adults?

she argues that many of what the march of progress writers see as care and protection are just new forms of oppression and control. she also argues that protection from paid work is not a benefit and rather an inequality to children as they rely dependent on parents

which sociologists uses the term 'age patriarchy' and what is it?

Diana Gittens uses the term age patriarchy to describe the inequalities between adults and children

what does Diana Gittens say about the inequalities between children and adults?

she argues that there is an age patriarchy of adult domination and child dependency., she points out that the term 'family' referred originally to the power of the male head over all other members of the household

today this power is asserted in the form of violence against both children and women

what is child liberation?

the need to free children from adult control

what did Cathy Humphrey and Ravi Thiara find in their study in relation to the inequalities between children and adults?

they found that a quarter of the 200 women in their study left their abusing partner because they feared for their children's lives

who wrote about the disappearance of childhood?

Neil Postman

why does Postman believe that childhood is disappearing?

he argues that it is disappearing due to the trend towards giving children the same right as adults, the disappearance of children's traditional unsupervised games, the growing similarity of adults and children's clothing and even children committing adult crimes

in postman's view the first cause of the emergence and disappearance lies in the rise and fall of print culture and the replacement of TV

what does postman say about the information hierarchy in relation to the disappearance of childhood?

he argues that childhood became a separate status along with mass literacy from the 19th century on and this was because the printed works created information hierarchy- a division between adults who can read and children who cannot this gave adults the power to keep knowledge about money. sex, violence, death and other adult matters a secret.

this led childhood to be associated with innocence and ignorance.

why does Postman say that the information hierarchy has been destroyed in relation to the disappearance of childhood?

he argues that the the introduction of the TV blurs the distinction of childhood and adulthood because the TV is available for both adults and children as no special skill is needed for the information. he states that childhood innocence and ignorance has been replaced with knowledge and cynicism

why could children enter adulthood from a young age during the middle ages?

they could enter adulthood from a young age because many people were illiterate and speech was the only skill needed for participation in the adult world

what does Iona Opie say about the disappearance of childhood?

Opie argues that childhood is not disappearing and from a lifetime of research into childhood unsupervised games, rhymes and songs, she argues that there its strong evidence of the continued existence of separate children's culture

what is the conclusion of Postman's view on childhood?

while his study shows how different types of communication technology like print and TV can influence the way childhood is constructed, he does over-emphasise a single cause- that TV is the main cause that has influenced the development. of childhood over other factors

which sociologist believes that childhood is not disappearing but changing?

Christopher Jenks

what does Christopher Jenks believe about childhood?

he believes that childhood is not disappearing like Postman states but rather that it is changing, he argues that childhood was seen as a preparation for the individual to become a productive adult as society is concerned with 'futurity'

he states that in order to achieve this end goal the child has to be protected and nurtured as well as controlled

what does Jenks say about modernity and postmodernity in childhood?

childhood is again undergoing change and society is moving from modernity to postmodernity

in modern society adults' relationships were more stable but in postmodern society the pace of change speeds up and relationships become more unstable therefore divorce becomes more common and the relationship with their children becomes more important as a source of adults' stability

why is the change from modernity to postmodernity important for jenks?

as society shifts to postmodernity adults become even more fearful for their child's security and are preoccupied with protecting them from dangers such as child abuse

this strengthens the view that children are vulnerable and in need of protection

how does societies shift from modern to postmodern society link to jenks' disagreement with postman's views on the disappearance of childhood?

as the shift to postmodernity shows that children are still vulnerable and in need of protection jenks argues that chiulhoodf has not disappeared and that it continues to be a different status- the legal and other restrictions placed on what children can do continues to mark them off from adults

what are the against views on jenks' perspective?

jenks is criticised for over generalising, despite the diversity patterns of family and childhood, he implies that all children are in the same position