Childhood as a relative experience - Class, Gender, Ethnicity, Parental Control, Global Experience, Child Abuse

Class

• Lareau's findings on middle-class childhood emphasizing "concerted cultivation".

• Working-class parents' focus on "natural growth" without special talents cultivation.

Gender

• Sharpe, Oakley, and Fine's studies on socialization into gender roles.

• Girls' experience of childhood differs from boys in various aspects like toys, play activities, chores, and social control.

• Boys toning down emotionality and intimacy for adult roles.

• Feminist concerns about sexual violence and abuse against female children.

• Girls' education sometimes secondary to household responsibilities.

Ethnicity

• Alison Shaw's study on British-Pakistani Muslims and their adherence to Islamic values.

• Ghuman's argument on generational conflict among Asian families in western societies.

• Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh children feeling a stronger sense of duty to parents.

• Some African societies' practices like FGM and child marriage.

Parental Control

• McHale et al's study on investment in sons' development over daughters'.

• Strict social controls on girls, especially during adolescence.

• Parents' influence on children's education and career aspirations.

Global Experience

• Effects of war on childhood, including death, displacement, and exploitation.

• Child labor, especially in developing countries, and lack of access to education.

• Child soldiers serving in various capacities in conflicts worldwide.

• Children living on urban streets due to abandonment.

Child Abuse

• Marije Stoltenborgh's global survey on child sexual abuse.

• Cultural acceptance of certain forms of abuse in African societies.

• Control over children's bodies by adults.